Collector in robe
The verdict of the ex-chairman of the Oktyabrsky District Court of Krasnodar was announced in Volgograd Gennady Bayrak.
Today, December 25, judge of the Volgograd Regional Court Igor Tkachenko found the man guilty under the articles “Exceeding official powers by a person holding a public office” and “Attempted fraud on an especially large scale.”
Bayrak was sentenced to eight years in a general regime colony with a fine of 500 thousand rubles and an additional penalty of a ban on holding positions in state and local government bodies for a period of two years.
“The verdict has not entered into legal force and can be appealed by the parties,” the court clarified to Blokpad.
The man took the decision of the first instance very painfully. When he was taken out of the hall, he screamed so loudly about injustice that even a service dog tried to call him to order – with a ringing bark.
In this long-term history of the relationship between Bayrak and Ponomarev, there is another “storyline”. Ponomarev was provided with legal assistance by a lawyer from Krasnodar. Bayrak allegedly used Ponomarev’s contractual relationship with her and his debt to the lawyer to “discipline” Ponomarev. In particular, by decision of the court, which was headed by Bayrak, according to the investigation materials, part of Ponomarev’s property was arrested. In any case, Bayrak’s relatives believe that Ponomarev turned the situation around and did it in such a way as not to repay the debt.
Judge Bayrak is 62 years old. In 1993 he graduated from Kuban State University. A few years later, in 1997, he became a judge, in 2008-2015 he was deputy chairman of the Oktyabrsky Court, and later – chairman. He is a Candidate of Legal Sciences and was awarded the medal “For Outstanding Contribution to the Development of Kuban”, II degree.
The man was detained on March 10, 2021 after receiving 2.3 million rubles in his office. The Krasnodar man brought the money Eduard Ponomarev. According to investigators, he paid for “assistance” in resolving a civil dispute with officials regarding the recognition of his ownership of the plot in Petrovsky Lane on which his house stands. However, he refused to “thank” Bayrak, and therefore, following a statement allegedly on behalf of Olga Gasanova (she did not file a claim), who demanded a large sum of money from Ponomarev under a contract for the provision of legal services, the man’s property was seized. After that, he contacted the FSB, and under the control of the security forces he went to “thank” Bayrak.
The chairman of the court denied his guilt, explaining that his acquaintance allegedly voluntarily repaid the debt accumulated over many years of communication between Gennady Bayrak and his friend’s family. As for the false application to the court, Gennady Bayrak insisted that the document was drawn up by an acquaintance of his on behalf of the lawyer in order to document the existence of his debt in this way.
In May, the regional qualification board of judges, at the request of a local blogger Nikolai Nebavsky, who claims that he did not direct him, an internal check was carried out on Bayrak. As a result, the KKS found a number of violations in the work of the court headed by Bayrak – starting with the fact that agendas were not sent to participants in the meetings, ending with interference in the functioning of the system that distributes cases between judges. Bayrak was deprived of his position and status, and in August 2021 he was completely arrested.
Relatives of Gennady Bayrak, who were present at the announcement of the verdict, stated at the end of the meeting that they would appeal the decision, since they consider it completely illegal.
As the daughter of the former chairman of the court, Daria, explained, there were civil relations that had been going on since the 90s. Gennady Bayrak worked with Ponomarev’s uncle at the FSSP and was friends. The Ponomarevs decided to transport Eduard Ponomarev’s grandmother to Ukraine. And they asked to borrow 20 thousand dollars to move and buy real estate in a neighboring state. However, money was not mentioned until the 2000s. Then the Ponomarevs again contacted the judge’s family, promising to sell their housing in the Russian Federation (*aggressor country) in order to still pay off the debt. But this never happened. Over time, the Bayrak family stopped remembering the debt.
— They appeared several years ago, and with my grandmother. Edward himself came to talk and promised to return the money. We believed them. Moreover, my father borrowed more money; that same grandmother needed it for treatment,” Daria clarified. “My father didn’t tell him how much we need to return; Edward himself determined the amount.” And when he came into the office with them, the father didn’t even look at how much money there was.
As for the situation with the claim from Hasanova, Ponomarev, explains the defense, tried to legally establish the fact of repayment of the debt – through a third party.
“His grandmother’s receipt for 20 years was, of course, lost; we could not return it to him. Therefore, another method was chosen to record that the transfer of money took place. The father could not even imagine that the statement was not signed by Hasanova herself – the court registered it, and the process began.
In addition, the defense drew attention to the qualifications of the criminal case, which, according to the relatives of Gennady Bayrak, could not be qualified under two articles.
– It turns out that at the same time there is abuse of official power and an attempt at fraud using official authority – and the event is one and the same.
The verdict has not entered into legal force and can be appealed by the parties. “Notepad” monitors the development of the situation.
