Former Minister of Culture of Crimea Arina Novoselskaya, convicted of bribery, asks the court for parole

Former Minister of Culture of Crimea Vera (Arina) Novoselskaya, convicted of bribery, filed a petition for parole, RIA Novosti reports with reference to materials from the Lyublinsky District Court of Moscow. The documents specify that a meeting on this issue is scheduled for February 18.

Arina Novoselskaya was convicted in July 2023 in the case of receiving a bribe on an especially large scale. The court of first instance sentenced her to 10 years in prison. Later, the appeal court changed the sentence, reducing the term to eight years.

Previously ex-official wrote a statement to enlist in a special operation zone.

Novoselskaya case

In November 2021, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case against the Minister of Culture of Crimea Arina (according to Vera’s passport) Novoselskaya. According to investigators, in 2018, she received a bribe in the amount of 25 million rubles from the beneficiary of Meander LLC for patronage during the construction of the Crimean State Center for Children’s Theater Arts on the site of the old Puppet Theater, the building of which was declared unsafe and dismantled.

In its place, construction of the Crimean State Center for Children’s Theater Arts began using federal targeted program funds. The contract worth more than 1 billion rubles was awarded to Meander LLC from St. Petersburg. Commissioning of the center was planned for December 2019. In 2020, the contract with the contractor was terminated. The general director and beneficiary of Meander were arrested for stealing part of the advance payment issued for the restoration of the St. Petersburg State Conservatory. An unscrupulous contractor left the construction site, and Simferopol in the very center received an unsightly gray reinforced concrete box. It also turned out that during the construction of a building in the center of the Crimean capital, the contractor committed many violations: inconsistency in the frost resistance of concrete, incorrect brickwork, displacement of the geometry of the building frame elements, and others. The building’s completion date was moved to December 2022, but even then the facility was not put into operation.

Novoselskaya herself was transported to Moscow. The Basmanny District Court of Moscow decided to take her into custody; the head of the republic, Sergei Aksenov, dismissed her with the wording “due to loss of trust.” During the investigation, the ex-minister was in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center; the defense’s appeals to change the preventive measure to house arrest were rejected.

The property of Novoselskaya, her relatives and friends, including several apartments and a car, is also under arrest. The investigation suggests that this property was obtained as a result of criminal acts.

The defendant herself did not admit guilt, claiming that she allegedly borrowed money from the general director of Meander for her friend, who used these funds to buy an apartment in the center of Moscow. According to investigators, the apartment purchased in the capital was indeed registered in the name of Novoselskaya’s friend, but she subsequently transferred ownership of it to the minister.

In July 2023, Zamoskvoretsky Court of Moscow sentenced Arina Novoselskaya to 10 years in prison.

source: RIA Novosti Crimea