Ex-tax official in Novosibirsk sentenced to colony for taking bribe
The Leninsky District Court handed down the sentence in the bribery case.
In Novosibirsk, former deputy head of a tax inspection Yulia Fokina was found guilty of receiving a large bribe through an intermediary (part “v” of article 290.5 of the Russian Criminal Code). The sentence was handed down by the Leninsky District Court.
Officials caught the tax employee during the illicit money transfer.
According to the Novosibirsk Region Prosecutor’s Office, the defendant received a bribe of 1 million rubles (approximately $11,000 at current rates). The intermediary who transferred the money was acting within the framework of operational search activities. As clarified by the Investigative Committee for the Novosibirsk Region, the money was transferred by two company founders for general patronage and a reduction in the amount of tax reassessments.
Yulia Fokina was sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment to be served in a general regime penal colony. She must also pay a fine five times the bribe amount — 5 million rubles (approximately $55,600). The defendant was stripped of her rank of 2nd class state civil service adviser. She is banned from holding certain positions for 4 years.
The money obtained through criminal means and the defendant’s mobile phone were confiscated for the state’s benefit.
The sentence has not entered into force.
In January 2025, Fokina was arrested red-handed. The money transfer was intercepted by officers of the Novosibirsk Region FSB Directorate.
