Astrakhan journalist found guilty of grant fraud

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A court found Astrakhan journalist Maxim Porotikov guilty of fraud with grant funds allocated for patriotic education of the region's residents and fined him 400,000 rubles.

The sentence was handed down by the Kirovsky District Court of Astrakhan.

Porotikov was arrested in March; according to investigators, he embezzled budget funds. Investigators also alleged that the journalist submitted forged contracts, invoices, and delivery notes containing false information, Kommersant reported on June 26.

The court found Porotikov guilty of large-scale fraud (Part 3 of Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code) and fined him 500,000 rubles, but reduced it to 400,000 rubles given his time in custody. Furthermore, the journalist is prohibited from engaging in activities related to concluding or implementing subsidy agreements.

Porotikov was arrested in early March on suspicion of embezzling funds allocated for patriotic education under a presidential grant through the regional youth agency. The grant was provided under the state program "Patriotic Education of the Population of the Astrakhan Region," Astrakhan News reports.

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