On November 9, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. In Miory District, a bailiff embezzled money from debtors, the Deputy Head of the Department for Combating Corruption and Organised Crime of the Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, Vasily Egorov, told a BELTA correspondent. From August 2006 to December 2008, a resident of Miory misappropriated over Br41 million, collected from debtors by court decisions. To conceal these facts and avoid responsibility, the court employee falsified bank statements, orders, receipts, and other documents, and also transferred over Br18 million from the court's settlement account to the claimants, allegedly received from debtors. For embezzlement on a particularly large scale, abuse of official powers, and forgery of documents, the man was sentenced to five years of imprisonment with confiscation of property, and deprivation of the right to hold positions in law enforcement and judicial bodies, and to engage in activities related to the performance of material responsibility functions, for a period of five years. However, taking into account the admission of guilt and full compensation for the damage caused, the court postponed the execution of the main sentence for three years. As Vasily Egorov noted, in general, issues of combating corruption in the Vitebsk region are quite relevant. Against the backdrop of a decrease in overall crime this year (murders, robberies, etc.), the number of detected corruption cases is growing. In January-October, 311 corruption crimes were registered, which is 5.4% more than in the same period of 2010. Bribery (166) and embezzlement committed by abuse of official powers (117) prevail in the structure of corruption crime. The largest number of corruption-related crimes in the past period was detected in the industrial and agricultural sectors, in trade, public administration, and education. During the preliminary investigation, damages amounting to over Br1 billion were compensated, and arrest was imposed on real estate, vehicles, and other property of the accused, with a total value of over Br1.5 billion. -0-

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