22 Jan 2020 18:33

Court replaces prison term with suspended sentence for Rostov businessman from 'Titov list' convicted of fraud

ROSTOV-ON-DON. Jan 22 (Interfax) - The Rostov Regional Court has changed the sentence of Andrei Kakovkin, director of Torgovy Dom Grif, in a fraud case, replacing his prison term with a suspended sentence, the court press service told Interfax.

"The sentence handed down by the district court to Kakovkin is changed. His punishment in the form of three years in prison is considered suspended with a probation period of two years. Kakovkin is released from custody," the source said, quoting the court's decision.

According to earlier reports, the Rostov-on-Don Kirovsky District Court in October 2019 found Kakovkin guilty of fraud and sentenced him to three years in a penal colony.

The court found that Kakovkin plotted with Baskakov, founder of the firm Ditis, and stole 10 million rubles from the limited liability company MKT on August 11, 2015.

Business ombudsman Boris Titov said in early February 2018 that he had given the president a list of businessmen who wanted to return to Russia but were hiding from the justice system abroad. He said all these businessmen had approximately the same story: they had managed to leave the country before being put in detention facilities.

The first businessman to return to Russia was Kakovkin. Upon entering the country, he was arrested and taken to a police station, but he was released after giving his written undertaking to come to the police and after his lawyers intervened. The police closed the criminal case against Kakovkin in August 2018; however, it was later resumed.

A total of eight people from the so-called Titov list have already returned to their homeland.