The former head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations for Kuzbass, Major General Alexander Mamontov, was sentenced to 10.5 years in prison and a fine of 900 thousand rubles in the case of a fire in the Zimnyaya Cherry shopping center on March 25, 2018, which killed 60 people, including 37 children. It is reported by TASS.
The court also passed a sentence on the former chief state inspector for fire supervision of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Kemerovo: Lieutenant Colonel Grigory Terentyev was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison. Terentyev was fined 120 thousand rubles.
Mamontov and Terentiev were found guilty of negligence that caused the death of people (part 3 of article 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The prosecution asked to sentence them to 14 and 10 years in prison. Mamontov was also found guilty under Part 4 of Art. 160 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (misappropriation or embezzlement committed by a group of persons using their official position), and Terentyev – under part 3 of Art. 159 (fraud). Mamontov pleaded not guilty to embezzlement of about 1.9 million rubles that belonged to his department.
The fire in the Winter Cherry occurred on March 25, 2018. The fire broke out on the fourth floor of the mall, where there were cinema halls and where there were many children on the day off. Of the 60 dead, 37 are children. More than 450 people were recognized as victims in the case. Investigators believe the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit. Subsequently, several criminal cases were initiated under Art. 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (the provision of services that do not meet safety requirements and resulted in the death of two or more persons) and Art. 219 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (violation of fire safety requirements, negligently resulting in the death of two or more persons).