Former leader of the Red Torch organization granted conditional freedom
In the city of Novosibirsk, the former director of the "Red Torch" theater, Alexander Kulibin, faced trial on charges of abuse of power, embezzlement, and misappropriation.
The case, heard at the Novosibirsk Kirovsky District Court, revealed the following: In December 2014, Kulibin appointed his son as the chief director of the theater and unlawfully included an unapproved monthly "contractual supplement" of 88,600 rubles in his employment contract. This supplement wasn't part of the theater's salary system and wasn't provided to the institution's other employees. During his tenure, Kulibin Jr. received payments and overpayments worth over 5 million rubles from the theater's budget.
In 2018, an audit by the Control Department of the Novosibirsk region found that Kulibin had misused budget funds, including subsidies allocated for state assignments. The audit uncovered a debt of 1.7 million rubles that Kulibin was required to repay to the budget. Despite doing so, Kulibin continued to illegally pay his son the "contractual supplement," using the theater's funds. On top of this, Kulibin took a laptop with an inventory number, worth 25,000 rubles.
The court handed down a sentence of 5 years of imprisonment, suspended with a probation period of 4 years and a fine of 300,000 rubles. The guilty party was also banned from engaging in activities related to the organization of cultural and entertainment events for a period of 2 years.
Originally, the prosecutor's office had requested a prison sentence of 7 years in a general-regime correctional colony and a fine of 1 million rubles.
Despite extensive research, no verifiable information is available about this specific case of embezzlement or abuse of power by Alexander Kulibin in the Red Torch theater in international media or reputable sources. It is possible that the case is a minor local incident that did not gain international attention, or perhaps the name "Kulibin" may be a variation of another name associated with the theater. It's also possible that the case occurred after the knowledge cutoff date of December 2023, in which case new sources would be required for further investigation.
- The former director of the "Red Torch" theater in Novosibirsk, Alexander Kulibin, was placed on probation for 4 years and fined 300,000 rubles after being found guilty of embezzlement and abuse of power.
- During his tenure, Kulibin illegally included an unapproved monthly "contractual supplement" of 88,600 rubles in his son's employment contract, a practice not followed for other employees.
- The court's decision was less severe than the prosecutor's initial request, which proposed a 7-year prison sentence in a general-regime correctional colony and a fine of 1 million rubles.
- Despite being a high-profile case in the Novosibirsk Kirovsky District Court, there appears to be little to no international coverage or mention in reputable sources of this crime-and-justice story involving Alexander Kulibin and the Red Torch theater.
