According to the region’s prosecutor’s office, in August 2020, the convicted person, beyond his official powers, organized a visit to an industrial company, presenting it as an unscheduled on-site inspection during the period of adverse weather conditions. At the same time, he had no right to do this and was not going to identify any violation.
Earlier, as RG already wrote, the investigation accused the official of having warned the company about carrying out control measures so that it had the opportunity to reduce emissions during the raid. Presumably, after this warning, he arrived at the company along with the journalists and led them through the workshops, where work was reportedly suspended.
The official himself accused the investigation of illogicality. After all, without having the authority to conduct inspections at the company, he, by definition, could not identify violations and report them to supervisory authorities. And he brought journalists to the company to show how the requirements to reduce emissions during adverse weather conditions are met. Naturally, the visit was agreed, otherwise they simply would not have been allowed into the company.
The state prosecutor’s office asked to sentence the former vice minister to six years in prison. However, the court limited itself to half of this period. The verdict has not entered into force and can be appealed to a higher court.
