The court will not question Igor Guskov in the case of former Deputy Governor Goncharov

On October 21, the October District Court of Rostov-on-Don held a regular hearing on the criminal case initiated against the former deputy governor of the Rostov region Viktor Goncharov and businessman Konstantin Rachalovskiy. Olga Gorbaneva, Rachalovsky’s deputy, and businessman Vadim Vaneev are also involved in the process.

They are accused of fraud and abuse of authority. The essence of the charges is that officials ordered the issuance of subsidies in the amount of 155 million rubles, intended for companies that did not have the right to state support.

The process has been going on for almost a year and is gradually approaching the stage of the debate of the parties. All the participants pleaded guilty in part, except Viktor Goncharov. He completely denies his guilt. At the same time, the defense actively submits petitions - because of this, the court even pointed out to lawyer Pavel Lapshov that he deliberately delays the process.

At the last meeting, Pavel Lapshov surprised the participants in the case with several petitions, one of which was the call of about 15 witnesses from different departments. Particular attention was drawn to the proposal to question the former first deputy governor Igor Guskov.

According to the defence, he could have participated in meetings where subsidies were discussed and could have clarified the situation. However, the court rejected the application and refused to call all the named witnesses, deciding that they were not related to the events in question.

Given the persistence of the defense, it is not necessary to expect a speedy sentence - it is still far from its announcement. At the next hearing, it is planned to hear two more witnesses invited by Goncharov’s lawyers.