Ex-judge accused of embezzling land allocated in Sochi for the Olympics

Dmitri Novikov, former judge of Khosta district court, Krasnodar Krai, is accused of organizing embezzling of 17 plots of "Olympic" land in Sochi. According to his lawyer, Novikov himself accused other judges of the crime.

According to the investigation, the Sochi administration concluded a contract with the "Rostovrybkom" Ltd. on the renovation of a memorial complex and partial renovation of the administration building and the University of Tourism, while renting out several land plots in return. The company failed to execute the works, yet it managed to obtain the land through court.

The investigating officers think that Novikov who is acquainted with Shelkov I.A., the plaintiff, helped him to submit documents to the chair of Khosta district court who, having no knowledge about the violation, took a decision in favor of Shelkov.

Novikov was arrested in Moscow in April this year and brought to Krasnodar. The ex-judge was accused of "organizing the acquisition of someone else's property by exclusively large-scale fraud", reports RAPSI agency.

However, Igor Trunov, the former judge lawyer, claims that Novikov was the first to address the authorities and the instigation agencies with a complaint on land embezzlement, following which he was taken to court. Novikov reported that machinations with the land plots had been conducted with the knowledge of local judges, including Alexander Chernov, chairman of Krasnodar Krai court.

The defense lawyer notes that, following the Novikov's address to the authorities and the investigation, the initiation of a criminal case against the persons listed by Novikov was refused while the submitted information "on the illegal actions of high-ranking judges has been turned against him".

The ex-judge is also suspected of committing crimes under some more articles, in particular, "passing of unjust ruling", "misfeasance in office" and "taking bribe".

Notably, Novikiov is accused of embezzling approximately 16,000 square meters of "Olympic" land totally costing more than 270 million rubles.

The law enforcement agencies and Krasnodar Krai judges failed to give any comments.