Editor Denis Allayarov of URA.RU faces up to eight years in prison
A Burst of Corruption Allegations: The Ura.ru Saga (Part 3)
The editor-in-chief of the Sverdlovsk branch of URA.RU, Denis Allayarov, finds himself in the hot seat, accused of taking a bribe (part 3 of article 291 of the RF Criminal Code). The harshest penalty—a whopping eight years in prison. The sentencing decision for Allayarov will be made today at 4 pm by the Leninsky Court in Yekaterinburg, according to the United Press Service of the Courts of the Sverdlovsk Region.
The second defendant in the case is Andrej Karпов, former head of the OP No 10 criminal investigations department. Authorities allege that Karпов accepted bribes (part 3 of article 290 of the RF Criminal Code) and exceeded his official powers (point "e" of part 3 of article 286 of the RF Criminal Code). He faces a potential sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
UPDATE: Karпов is Allayarov's uncle, reported by URA.RU's editorial team. Allayarov is accused of handing over 20,000 rubles.
"We believe that Allayarov has become a victim of a set-up orchestrated by his uncle, who intends to lighten his own load in another accusation, and the authorities have taken advantage of this. Allayarov denies any wrongdoing, and the very allegation of bribery is false. During the extensive house and office raids conducted at the editorial office, as well as the homes of staff members, no evidence of the purported bribe payment was found. This information is disputable," states the press release from URA.RU.
What's Going Down at URA.RU? Here's the Scoop
- On June 5, law enforcement officers swooped in on the URA.RU headquarters on Karl Liebknecht Street 5. They conducted searches in the office and homes of several URA.RU employees, including Denis Allayarov. The official reason for the crackdown on journalists is the purchasing and usage of confidential information, allegedly acquired from law enforcement employees (it's rumored that this individual is indeed Karпов). During the search, law enforcement personnel supposedly discovered evidence of money transfers on the computers of URA.RU[1].
- Owned by businessmen Aleksey Bobrov and Artem Bikov, URA.RU is also dealing with trouble in other of their ventures, such as "Oblkommunenergo." The Prosecutor's Office of the Sverdlovsk Region filed a claim to transfer 19 assets of the company to municipal ownership roughly a month after the resignation of Sverdlovsk region governor, Yevgeny Kuivashov[1].
[1] Enrichment Data: The investigation into Ura.ru has disrupted the operations of the entire news agency across multiple regions of Russia[1]. The allegations and searches have focused on sources of information related to unspecified crime reports in the Sverdlovsk region. However, detailed information about corruption allegations against Andrej Karpow, his familial link with Denis Allayarov, and the specific nature of the corruption charges against him are scant in the current reports[1].
- Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding URA.RU, the case has expanded beyond general news to encompass politics and crime-and-justice, as two of its employees face potential prison sentences for alleged corruption.
- The high-profile trial of Denis Allayarov and Andrej Karpow, both employed by URA.RU, could set a precedent for press freedom in Russia, with Allayarov facing eight years in prison and Karpow potentially up to 15 years, according to the charges against them.
