Stavropol Territory: doctors convicted for extorting bribes for certifying disability

Today, on March 24 the Stavropol Territorial Court has sentenced four employees of the local branch of the Medical-Social Examinations Bureau, accused of bribe-taking for certification of citizens' physical inability, where the latter had legitimate right to get such certifications.

According to the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of the Russian Federation, doctors Irina Romanova and Tamara Petrosyan were sentenced to 7.5 years of imprisonment in a minimum security colony, and doctor Anna Lubenets - to 7 years and 3 months of imprisonment (the serving of the term is postponed until her child reaches 14 years of age). The senior nurse of the branch Sabira Fakhretdinova was sentenced to 4 years of a minimum security colony.

Valentina Barakhovich, acting head of the Chief Medical-Social Examinations Bureau for the Stavropol Territory was placed into the psychiatric hospital.

According to the investigation, in June 2007, Ms Barakhovich created a criminal grouping, where she involved three doctors and the senior nurse of the branch; and for four months they carried out illegal actions in the Petrov and Turkmen Districts of the Territory. In total, the defendants were incriminated 63 bribes for the total sum of 584,000 roubles.