MOSCOW, October 16 - RAPSI. The Supreme Court’s Military Board has upheld the eight-year custodial sentence of the Defense Ministry's former Medical Department head, the court told RAPSI on Tuesday. Alexander Belevitin was convicted for accepting bribes when purchasing tomographic scanners. However, his deputy Alexei Nikitin was acquitted.

The Moscow District Military Court found Belevitin guilty of abuse of power and large-scale bribery on July 25.Nikitin, his deputy and a retired medical service colonel, was also tried in the case.

Investigators believe Belevitin and Nikitin accepted 7 million rubles ($227,180) in bribes to act as intermediaries in signing medical equipment supply contracts for the Defense Ministry worth over 187 million rubles ($6.1 million).

Nikitin was ordered to pay a fine of 1.7 million rubles ($55,170) for mediation in the bribery. The court acquitted him of abuse of power and he was released. Nikitin has said he believes the sentence is fair.

The board turned down the application by the Main Military Prosecutor’s Office and Belevitin’s appeal against his sentence on Tuesday.

The Defense Ministry’s claim for 51 million rubles ($1.64 million) in damages has also been dismissed.