MOSCOW, April 1 (RAPSI, Alexei Afonsky) – Moscow's Meshchansky District Court sentenced two executives and a member of the Sheremetyevo Trade Union of Flight Personnel to prison terms ranging from 66 to 78 months for for attempting to defraud state-controlled airline Aeroflot out of 100 million rubles ($1.7 million), RAPSI learnt in the court on Wednesday.

Alexei Shlyapnikov, executive director of the trade union, received 78 months in prison.

Valery Pimoshenko, vice-president of the trade union, got 72 months, and Sergei Knyshov, member of the trade union, was sentenced to 66 months in prison.

Investigators claim that Shlyapnikov and Pimoshenko demanded payment from Aeroflot’s flight director for helping the airline end a strike of pilots who demanded higher wages, and threatened to send compromising information about Aeroflot to the media if he refused to pay.

Defense lawyers allege that the men were prosecuted unlawfully and charges against them were brought following their long-standing conflict with Aeroflot.