Russian Anticorruption Officer Gets 13 Years In Prison On Bribery Charges

Dmitry Zakharchenko attends a court hearing in Moscow on June 10.

A court in Moscow has sentenced a police officer to 13 years in prison on bribery charges after the authorities found he had kept the equivalent of $120 million in cash at his home.

The Presnensky district court on June 10 convicted and sentenced Dmitry Zakharchenko for bribe taking and obstruction of justice.

The court also ordered Zakharchenko to pay a fine of 117 million rubles ($1.8 million). Zakharchenko was stripped of his colonel rank and all decorations he had received while serving in the Interior Ministry's anticorruption directorate.

Zakharchenko's lawyer, Stanislav Maltsev, said the verdict and sentence will be appealed.

Zakharchenko's trial started in August 2018. He was charged with multiple counts of bribe taking and obstruction of justice.

The 41-year-old Zakharchenko was the acting deputy chief of a directorate branch when he was arrested in September 2016 after investigators found $120 million in various currencies at his Moscow apartment.

Based on reporting by Dozhd, Meduza, and TASS