Moscow court changes Portyannikov's seven-year prison term to suspended sentence

Moscow City Court has suspended the seven-year prison sentence imposed on Vyacheslav Portyannikov for acting as an intermediary in bribery in a Defence Ministry body-armour case. The court set a four-year probation period.

RIA Novosti reported the change on October 10, citing court documents. The court cancelled Portyannikov's detention and ordered his release.

Moscow's Tushinsky District Court had sentenced him in June to seven years in a strict-regime penal colony and a fine. His defence appealed, arguing that the punishment was excessive and asking for a lighter sentence and removal of the fine.

The appeal court considered his cooperation with investigators, admission of guilt, remorse, age and state awards. It also cited chronic illnesses affecting him and his wife. The prosecutor supported the possibility of a suspended sentence.

The rest of the original judgment remained unchanged. The reported ruling therefore changes the custodial punishment, while the defence request to cancel the fine was not granted. The documents quoted by the agency did not specify the fine's amount.

Investigators allege that employees of Piket Group stole state-contract funds and supplied at least 20,040 body-armour units that failed to meet contractual requirements. Portyannikov was an organisational director at ConceptAviaprom. The account of the supplies is attributed to investigators.