Businesswoman Anna Shirina has been sentenced to eight years in prison by the Tsentralny District Court in Sochi after selling non-existent apartments to collect more than 140 million rubles.
The joint press service of the courts of Krasnodar Krai confirmed the ruling to news outlet Lenta.ru, stating that Shirina will serve her sentence in a general-regime penal colony.
Judges found Shirina guilty of 39 separate counts of fraud under Parts 3 and 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. She was also convicted of laundering money or property acquired through criminal activity under Part 4 of Article 174.1 of the code.
Sochi is a Black Sea resort city located in Krasnodar Krai in southwestern Russia. Under the Russian judicial system, general-regime penal colonies serve as standard-security correctional facilities for individuals convicted of serious non-violent crimes or first-time offences.
Fake documents and phantom auctions
During the court proceedings, evidence showed that Shirina approached prospective property buyers with promises to secure residential apartments at prices significantly lower than prevailing market values.
To persuade her clients, Shirina showed victims forged documents that appeared to validate the real estate transactions. Relying on these falsified records, victims transferred funds directly to her to purchase the promised properties.
However, court findings revealed that the apartments were never put up for auction or public bidding as promised. Shirina pocketed the funds sent by her clients, ultimately stealing a total of 140,642,760 rubles across the 39 fraudulent transactions.
Related Russian financial crime convictions
The conviction in Sochi follows another major financial crime case in the country. In Moscow, the Presnensky District Court sentenced Andrey Shestakov to 12 years in prison in a separate fraud and corruption trial.
Shestakov was the former first deputy head of the state institution Support Center, an agency operating under the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia. He was convicted over the theft of 28 million rubles and receiving bribes.
The Ministry of Economic Development oversees federal economic policy, state asset administration, and public business infrastructure across Russia.
