Former director of MUPV “Necropolis” Igor Babynin, who was almost called the king of the funeral business in Vladivostok, received today 10 years in prison in a maximum security colony with a fine of 300 million rubles. He was found guilty of commercial bribery, receiving a bribe and embezzlement – in total he illegally received more than 320 million rubles. In addition, the court recovered a million rubles in damages in favor of the mayor’s office.
Babynin was charged with several charges, although in fact the essence is similar. He received money from commercial structures while working as director of Necropolis from 2005 to 2017. It’s just that until 2015, due to the specifics of the legislation, he was not considered an official, so it was considered bribery. And after that – a bribe.
So, the court found that from 2005 to 2015, Babynin, being a person performing management functions of a commercial organization, through intermediaries received from an entrepreneur operating in the field of funeral services, shares of his enterprise with a total par value of over 2.9 million rubles and cash funds in the amount of over 179 million rubles for the performance in favor of the enterprise represented by the latter of actions for the smooth processing of orders for services related to the burial of the remains or ashes of the deceased and other funeral services in the territory of cemeteries controlled by the defendant in the city of Vladivostok (“Morskoye”, “Lesnoye” , “Ajax” and “Central”) in accordance with the relevant agreement (Part 3 of Article 204 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country)).
During the same period of time, the defendant received funds in the amount of 40 million rubles as a commercial bribe from the managers and founder of another funeral agency for taking actions in favor of the enterprise represented by the latter to smoothly process MUPV Necropolis, as a special service, orders from the organization for various funeral services, as well as issuing passes of the established form to hearse vehicles.
From 2015 to 2017, already as an official, Igor Babynin accepted bribes in the form of funds through intermediaries from the management of the mentioned commercial organizations for the unimpeded conduct of similar actions. In the first case, he received a bribe in the amount of over 93 million rubles, in the second case, 10 million rubles (Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country)).
And from December 2016 to September 2017, the defendant, using his official position, stole funds entrusted to him, as the director of the Necropolis Municipal Institution, in a total amount of over 1 million rubles, wasting them in favor of a funeral commercial organization affiliated to him (Part 4 Article 160 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country)).
The court sentenced the defendant to 10 years in prison with a fine of 300 million rubles, with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to the provision of funeral services for 7 years. The place where the sentence will be served is a high-security correctional colony.
In addition, the court satisfied the claim of the regional prosecutor for the recovery of more than 1 million rubles of damage caused to the budget of the Vladivostok city district.
The verdict did not enter into legal force. Case No. 1-4/2023, judge of the Leninsky District Court Krasko O.A.
It should be noted that Babynin’s case was the latest in a series of investigations into the Vladivostok funeral business. One of the defendants was the ex-mayor of Vladivostok Oleg Gumenyuk, who was accused, among other things, of receiving a bribe in the amount of 31.2 million rubles from an acquaintance who acted as an intermediary for representatives of the municipal enterprise Necropolis, “for general patronage and connivance in the provision of funeral services.” He was sentenced to 16.5 years and a huge fine, later the sentence was slightly commuted.
The same “familiar” Sergey Sirotin, although he testified against his former friend, he received four years in prison in November last year. Previously, Evgeniy Shlenchak, the former head of the Necropolis cemetery, received a 5-year sentence in prison, and the head of the crematoriums was fined.
Igor Babynin himself was already tried in 2018 for fraud, after the MUP he headed was checked by the Accounts Chamber. He admitted guilt, so he received only two years probation. Leninsky District Court, case No. 1-332/2018, judge Sklizkov Anton Nikolaevich.
