Former Yalta migration officials sentenced for bribery and illegal migration

A former head of Yalta’s police migration department received 18 years and six months in a strict-regime prison colony, while his deputy received 17 years, Crimea’s Investigative Committee office reported on October 9.

The agency said they were convicted of organizing illegal migration and accepting bribes as members of a criminal organization. Kommersant also reported the sentences. RIA Novosti’s brief report did not name the defendants.

Investigators said the department head established the group in autumn 2016. Members took payments to facilitate foreigners’ illegal residence in Crimea followed by Russian citizenship, receiving more than 1.4 million rubles in bribes.

Other participants’ cases were separated and previously resulted in verdicts. The announcement did not specify whether the new verdicts had entered legal force or been appealed.