Overview
- The Octyabrsky District Court set house arrest for one month and 23 days, rejecting a request from prosecutors to jail him pending trial.
- Judge Roman Kalitko announced the ruling after the suspect was detained on November 12 based on testimony from former TV journalist Sergey Ivanov.
- Vyascheslav Stepchenko is charged with taking bribes under Part 5 of Article 290, and both he and administrator Alexander Semenov face counts over creating a resource for illegal storage and transfer of computer information.
- Semenov, 65, is accused of giving bribes under Paragraph “b” of Part 4 of Article 291 and was earlier placed under a court order restricting certain actions.
- In court, Stepchenko acknowledged the accusations and said the funds were used for representational expenses, and he reported submitting his resignation and turning in his police ID.