In Kalmykia, director of football club fined for illegal employment of footballers

Valery Bembinov, Director General of the "Elista" Football Club (FC), was fined by the city court of the capital of Kalmykia by 80,000 roubles for illegal employment of football players into the Municipal Unitary Enterprise (MUE) "Energoservice", where he was also director.

The investigation has established that Mr Bembinov, being Director of the MUE "Energoservice" and Director General of the "Elista" FC at the same time, in April 2005 ordered his deputy to hire several persons as employees of the "Energoservice" and later employed them as football players of the "Elista" FC.

Under Bembinov's order these persons received, in the period from April 2005 to February 2006, their salaries, although in fact they never worked for the "Energoservice". By these actions Bembinov caused damage to the enterprise in the sum of 419,811 roubles, as the RIA "Novosti" reports.

The court recognized Valery Bembinov guilty under part 1, Article 201, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Abuse of authority") and fined him by 80,000 roubles. The verdict has not come into force yet.
The "Lenta.ru" notes that it is not the first fine for Bembinov. In October 2008, the magistrate court of Moscow fined Bembinov by five thousand roubles because in 2006 he failed to file an application on recognition of the "Elista" FC to be bankrupt, although the club's indebtedness was then about 700,000 roubles.