Lavish Lifestyle Exposed: Ex-Police Chief Sentenced to 20 Years for Corruption

Former Stavropol Traffic Police Chief Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison Aleksei Safonov, the former head of the Stavropol traffic police department, has been sentenced to 20 years in a strict-regime penal colony and fined 100 million rubles. The Cherkessk City Court found him guilty of creating a criminal organization (part 3 of Article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), receiving bribes (parts 5 and 6 of Article 290), and abuse of office (part 1 of Article 285). Safonov's lavish lifestyle, including a mansion with gold-plated bathroom fixtures, was highlighted during the investigation, demonstrating the vast scale of his illegal activities. "His guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt," stated the presiding judge in the court's ruling. The investigation revealed that Safonov established a criminal network in 2013 to extort money from drivers of heavy trucks in exchange for ensuring their unimpeded passage through the region. The court also stripped Safonov of his police colonel rank and banned him from holding positions in law enforcement or government for 12 years. This case underscores the ongoing efforts to combat corruption within Russian law enforcement agencies.