MOSCOW, March 21 (RAPSI) – A court in Vladivostok has sentenced former head of the “Mostovik” construction firm, Oleg Shishov, to three years in a penal company for complicity in embezzlement, RIA Novosti reported on Monday.

Additionally, Shishov was ordered to pay a 300,000 ruble ($4,200) fine.

Shishov was accused of complicity in embezzlement of entrusted property. According to investigators, he helped executive of the government company “Direction on construction management in the Far Eastern Federal District”, Andrei Poplavsky, to embezzle more than one billion rubles ($14.2 million) allocated for the construction of the Primorye Oceanarium.

Shishov made a pre-trial agreement on cooperation and testified against Poplavsky.

Head of the “Kosandra” company, Alexander Kosyachenko is also suspected of the criminal conspiracy.

Initially, the Primorye Oceanarium was planned to open at the beginning of APEC-2012 summit, but the commissioning date was postponed several times. Russian authorities expect Oceanarium to open this spring.