The prosecution requested a 14-year prison sentence for the former deputy governor of the Rostov region.

The prosecutor has requested a lengthy prison sentence and a fine of 475 million rubles for former Rostov Region Deputy Governor Vitaly Kushnarev.

Caucasian Knot reported that in October, the court ordered the state to pay over 160 million rubles from Vitaly Kushnarev and his wife.

Today, in the Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Rostov-on-Don, the prosecutor asked the court to sentence Vitaly Kushnarev to 14 years in prison. "I ask that you find Kushnarev guilty and sentence him to 14 years in a maximum-security penal colony and a fine of 475 million rubles," TASS quotes the prosecutor as saying.

Kushnarev also finished giving testimony today, and the trial was concluded, RIA reports. "News."

The next hearing in Kushnarev's case will take place on November 12. The defense is scheduled to speak during the oral arguments, as is the defendant, who intends to express his position on the charge of bribery. Kushnarev previously pleaded guilty to weapons possession, explaining to the court that he had not had time to hand over the pistol he found due to frequent business trips, according to 161.ru.

As a reminder, former Deputy Governor of the Rostov Region and Minister of Transport Vitaly Kushnarev was detained along with his deputy on November 25, 2024. Kushnarev is charged under Part 6 of Article 290 (accepting a bribe on an especially large scale) and Part 1 of Article 222 (illegal acquisition, storage, transportation, and carrying of firearms and ammunition) of the Criminal Code. In September 2025, the court will once again extended his arrest until January 3, 2026.

According to the investigation, in October 2024, in Rostov-on-Don, Kushnarev demanded 95 million rubles from the director of T-Trans LLC for the unimpeded acceptance of work on construction, reconstruction, major repairs, and maintenance of highways in the region, carried out under state contracts, and their timely payment. The businessman contacted the FSB. Also, according to the investigation, in November 2024, Kushnarev illegally purchased and stored a Colt pistol and ammunition at his home.

Vitaly Kushnarev headed the Ministry of Transport of the Rostov Region from 2014 to 2016, then served as head of the Rostov-on-Don administration until 2021. He later became a State Duma deputy, but in In 2024, he resigned his parliamentary powers after receiving an offer to return to the regional government, where he again headed the Ministry of Transport, Kommersant wrote.