MOSCOW, July 11 (RAPSI, Kirill Ryabchikov) – The Moscow City Court on Thursday commuted by 5 months prison sentence of the State Road Safety Authority ex-director convicted of bribery in transport management, a RAPSI correspondent reported from the courtroom.

Also, by this decision, sentence given to another defendant in the case, ex-head of the department of road supervision for the Western Administrative District, the Southern Administrative District, the South-Western Administrative District of the Central State Road Safety Authority of Moscow, Maxim Morgun, was reduced by 3 months.

In February, Moscow’s Savelovsky District Court sentenced Surzhik to 9 years behind bars; Morgun received 8 years and 6 months. Moreover, the defendants were fined 11.5 million rubles each (over $180,000). The defendants appealed the ruling.

Thus, the appeals board only partially granted the defendants’ complaints against the sentence. The Moscow City Court excluded some points of the prosecution but refused to cancel the sentence as the former officials and lawyers asked during the debate. The defense claimed Surzhik and Morgun's guilt was not proven and they were wrongly accused by another ex-employee of the State Road Safety Authority of Moscow Artem Vysotsky.

According to case files, the defendants received bribes for the general patronage of commercial organizations that manage transportation on the territory of the city of Moscow and the subjects of the Russian Federation.

Investigation revealed that the State Road Safety Authority staff had warned some people about the planned inspections and had not brought these persons to administrative responsibility for the violations.

Investigators said the total amount of money received as bribes was more than 1.15 million rubles (about $ 18,244), adding that there was evidence of other law violations.