MOSCOW, May 17(RAPSI) – Moscow’s Dorogomilovsky District Court on Monday sentenced Alexander Seliverstov, ex-CEO of the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, one of the country's leading space enterprises, to 5 years in penal colony for embezzlement, the court’s press service told RAPSI.

Additionally, the court barred him from carrying out business at state enterprises for2years.

His two deputies Victor Larin and Yuriy Yakovlev received 4.5 years in penal colony each.

Investigators claimed that the Khrunichev Center unduly granted benefits to Metalresource company during the assignment of contracts for metal supplies.

As reported earlier, in 2012 Larin signed the 290 million-ruble ($4 mln) contract with Metalresource for supplying metal for Proton and Angara booster rockets without proper auction. Later the same company received similar contracts that involved Seliverstov and deputy head Yakovlev.

Damages allegedly caused by the ex-heads of the Center have been estimated at 108 million rubles ($1,3 million).

The Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center is one of the country's leading space enterprises. Currently the research center’s main priority is construction of “Proton” and “Angara” space rockets. In 2014, it was revealed that enterprise faces financial troubles.