MOSCOW, July 11 (RIA Novosti) – The former commander of Russia’s acclaimed Swifts aerobatics team was fined $25,000 (775,000 rubles) on Thursday for attempting to accept a $1,000 bribe to let a subordinate skip duty.
The accused, Lt. Col. Valery Morozov, had been detained as he accepted the 31,000 ruble bribe in a sting operation in August, the RAPSI legal news agency reported from the Moscow Region military courtroom.
Morozov, who had previously been accused of illegally selling team badges, maintained that he was framed in the bribery sting. He was dismissed from the Air Force in October for “failure to comply with his contract.”
On Tuesday, the prosecutor asked the court to fine Morozov $50,000, strip him of his rank and ban him from holding a government job for two years.
