MOSCOW, July 8 (Xinhua) -- A Russian military court has sentenced Colonel General Khalil Arslanov, former deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, to 17 years in a high-security penal colony for large-scale fraud and bribery, local media reported Monday.
Russia's TASS news agency reported that the 235th Garrison Military Court also fined Arslanov over 24 million rubles (305,000 U.S. dollars), stripped him of his rank and state honors, and convicted him of abusing his official position.
According to investigators, Arslanov and his associates signed inflated contracts with Voentelecom, a company supplying satellite communication equipment to the Ministry of Defense. These deals allegedly led to the embezzlement of around 1.6 billion rubles (20.3 million dollars).
Arslanov was also found guilty of extorting a 12 million ruble (152,500 dollars) bribe from the head of a military communications company. Colonel Pavel Kutakhov and retired officer Igor Yakovlev, who were convicted in the same case, were sentenced to seven and six years in prison, respectively.
Three additional defendants, including Arslanov's former subordinate Major General Alexander Ogloblin, pleaded guilty and reached plea bargains. Ogloblin received a 4.5-year sentence and remains in custody on separate charges.
Arslanov also remains under investigation in a separate case related to the procurement of Azart R-187-P1 military radios for the Russian Armed Forces. ■
