Russian lawmaker Vadim Belousov has been added to the country's most-wanted list after he failed to show at a court hearing where he was sentenced to 10 years in prison on bribery charges.
A Moscow court sentenced Belousov, a member of the Russian parliament's lower chamber, on August 3 and ordered him to pay a 500 million ruble ($8.19 million) fine after finding him guilty of receiving more than 3 billion rubles ($49 million) in bribes from a construction company in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk when Belousov led a local bakery there.
The Interior Ministry subsequently placed Belousov on the most-wanted list.
Belousov’s mother-in-law, Margarita Butakova, was an accountant there at the time and was handed a suspended five-year prison term for her role in the operation.
Both Belousov and Butakova pleaded not guilty.
In late July, Russia's Central Election Commission (TsIK) said Belousov was officially registered as a candidate for the post of the head of the Republic of Udmurtia in an election scheduled for September.
TsIK Chairwoman Ella Pamfilova said on August 4 that it is too early to annul Belousov's candidacy in the election, stressing that the court's decision has yet to take force as Belousov has the right to appeal the verdict and sentence.
