The former deputy head of Gelendzhik was convicted of abuse of office.

The Krasnodar Regional Court upheld the sentence of former Deputy Mayor of Gelendzhik Pavel Blinov, accused of abuse of office and exceeding his official authority. He was sentenced to three years in a penal colony.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," in October 2020, police officers, together with the FSB Directorate for Krasnodar Krai, detained a former Gelendzhik administration employee in Krasnodar, suspected of embezzling more than 1.3 million rubles in revenue from paid parking in the city. On September 22, 2020, the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued a wanted notice for Pavel Blinov, the deputy mayor of Gelendzhik, who oversaw housing and utilities issues. According to the court, Blinov, who had served as deputy head of the municipality of the resort town of Gelendzhik since July 2019, decided to set up a business with an acquaintance to maintain recreational areas on the beaches. For this purpose, they found a plot of land on the beach in the village of Kabardinka. However, this plot was already occupied by another entrepreneur who had landscaped the beach and intended to continue operating under the contract concluded between him and the city administration, the press service of the courts of Krasnodar Krai reported on their Telegram channel on February 5. Blinov demanded that he voluntarily terminate the contract, but the businessman refused. The defendant then used his administrative influence and official authority to force the businessman to unilaterally terminate the contract, allegedly uncovering significant violations on the businessman's part.

The defendant knew that further commercial use of the land plot was possible by transferring it to the municipal enterprise "Alexandria," which, in turn, could enter into joint venture agreements with third parties. He then demanded that the enterprise's director enter into such an agreement with an acquaintance. The director refused and was fired. The defendant replaced him with a loyal individual who concluded the necessary agreement on behalf of "Alexandria."

It is also reported that from December 23, 2019, to August 3, 2020, Blinov, "clearly exceeding his official authority," granted third parties the right to free use of municipally owned real estate belonging to an enterprise he controlled. As a result, the company suffered property damage in the amount of 1.28 million rubles.

The Gelendzhik City Court previously found the defendant guilty, sentencing him to three years in a penal colony and disqualifying him from holding positions in the civil service and local government for three years, the press service clarified.

"The Criminal Division of the Krasnodar Regional Court upheld the verdict of the Gelendzhik City Court, which found Pavel Blinov guilty of abuse of office. The appellate court found no grounds for changing the verdict. The verdict has entered into legal force," the report stated.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that Alexander Dashuk, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Krasnodar Territory, was arrested on February 4. Also sent to pretrial detention were former head of the Kuban Road Workers' Union Daria Chubachuk and entrepreneurs Igor Serdyuk and Yevgeny Nikogda. All those taken into custody are defendants in the case of former State Duma deputy Anatoly Voronovsky.