MOSCOW. June 14 (Interfax) - The Moscow Garrison Military Court has sentenced Gen. Valery Znakhurko and entrepreneur Tatyana Romanova to four years in a general prison for supplying over 14,000 bullet-proof jackets unfit for use to the troops, the press service of the Main Military Prosecutor's Office has reported.
"Znakhurko and Romanova were fined over 153 million rubles," the press service said in a statement which Interfax obtained on Friday.
The general lost the right to hold government executive and administrative posts for two years.
Romanova was also fined 200,000 rubles.
Investigators have proven that Znakhurko and Romanova abused their authority by engaging in large-scale fraud, the press service said.
As head of a division with the Defense Ministry's Main Missile-Artillery Department Znakhurko skipped testing and signed contracts for the purchase of 14,000 bullet-proof jackets and their delivery to the troops with ZAO Artes, directed by Romanova, it said.
Subsequent tests showed that the body armor was unfit for combat conditions and could not resist shots, it said.
The criminal deal inflicted the state over 203 million-ruble in damage.