Official found guilty of abuse of office commits suicide in Moscow - source
MOSCOW. Dec 5 (Interfax) - Vladimir Polyutov, former deputy head of the Moscow Property Ministry's territorial department, has committed suicide in Moscow.
Polyutov was found guilty of abuse of office leading to grave consequences by the Moscow City Court jury two days ago.
A source in the law enforcement agencies told Interfax the former official shot and killed himself in his apartment in southeastern Moscow at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
Interfax currently has no official information on the suicide.
Polyutov and his accomplice Tatyana Naidenova, the head of the Moscow Property Ministry's territorial department, were accused by the Investigations Committee of violating Russian Criminal Code Article 286 (abuse of office).
The actions the officials were accused of were revealed by Audit Chamber auditors in a probe into the effectiveness of the management of the foreign financial assets of OAO Foreign Economic Association Stankoimport in 2009. The state holds a 100% stake in OAO Foreign Economic Association Stankoimport, which is part of the state corporation Rostekhnologii.
According to the Investigations Committee, Naidenova exceeded her powers by signing an order on the conditions of privatization of the federal state unitary enterprise Foreign Economic Association Stankoimport on August 4, 2004. She approved the enterprise's property subject to privatization by illegally including in it securities (shares, equity, and deposits) of 19 foreign companies, which were created at public expense. The real value of financial assets was not taken into account in that privatization.
Naidenova also appointed her deputy Polyutov board chairman of OAO Stankoimport, who exceeded his powers by signing on behalf of the Property Ministry an act of privatization of the property, thus violating the lawful interests of the state. The value of the securities included in that privatization was estimated at 897 million rubles, although their real value exceeded 2.5 billion rubles.
On December 3, the Moscow City Court jury found Naidenova and Polyutov guilty. The trial was closed to the press. Naidenova and Polyutov denied their guilt. The Moscow City Court was expected to convict them on Wednesday. They faced up to 10 years in prison.
