NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Oct 10 Former football player Ruslan Mukhametshin sentenced to 1 6 months in a penal colony for illegal organization of gambling, the prosecutor's office of Mordovia reported. The court found out that from November 2017 to February 2020, two residents of Saransk and two more from Kazan illegally organized gambling using the Internet in Saransk and the city of Kovylkino. A criminal case was initiated under Part 3 of Article 171.2. Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (illegal organization and conduct of gambling committed by an organized group). As the agency was told in the prosecutor's office of Mordovia, the men were found guilty by the verdict of the Leninsky District Court of Saransk. «Mukhametshin was sentenced to 1 year 6 months in prison in a general regime correctional colony with a fine of 800 thousand rubles,» the agency's interlocutor said. According to her, another defendant was sentenced to 5 years 6 months in prison in a general regime colony and a fine 800 thousand rubles. One man was sentenced to imprisonment for a period of 1 year and 6 months conditionally with a probationary period of 2 years with a fine of 800 thousand rubles. As the prosecutor's office explained, «the application of a conditional sentence became possible due to the presence of a combination of mitigating circumstances for the convicted person and a partial admission of guilt.» The fourth defendant, who assisted the investigation and the court in establishing the circumstances of the crime and exposed the accomplices, was fined 300 thousand rubles. The verdict did not enter into force. Mukhametshin, a football player, striker, was a member of the coaching staff of the Mordovia football club in 2019-2020. In October 2019, he was appointed acting head coach of FC Mordovia, when the head coach of Mordovia Marat Mustafin could not lead the team for health reasons.
