Sverdlovsk Region Court supported the verdict of Yekaterinburg Leninskiy District Court returned on March 4, 2010. The district court declared that, based on the evidence provided by the prosecution, the accused, a Yekaterinburg-based firm’s trustee in bankruptcy Zurab Kharbediya, should be sentenced to two years in a penal settlement. Kharbediya was found guilty of abuse of power (Article 201 (part 2) of the Russian Federation Criminal Code).

It was determined that Zurab Kharbediya used his authority to organize the company’s bankruptcy proceedings for financial fraud. Namely, two multi-storey buildings in the center of Yekaterinburg that had been occupied by some consulates were sold to some third parties at an admittedly lowered price. This means that the Swiss Sambre & Loire S.A., the creditors of OOO Vzaimodeistviye were deceived.
The total damage was estimated at over 119 million RUR.

Upon Sverdlovsk Region Court’s decision, the district court’s sentence came into full effect.