The Gagarinsky Court of Moscow sentenced Moscow resident Anton Grishin to a fine of 350 thousand rubles in the case of donations to the Anti-Corruption Foundation, reported a correspondent of «Mediazona»** from the courtroom. During the debates, state prosecutor Yana Shtrymova asked to sentence the defendant to 4 years in a general regime penal colony.
Grishin confirmed in court that on the morning of August 5, 2021, after the announcement of the fundraising, he set up a monthly subscription from his card for the amount of 500 rubles. A total of seven deductions occurred for a total amount of 3500 rubles, until the disconnection of international payment systems.
«I admit my guilt in what I have done, I fully admit it, I repent», — Grishin said in court, noting at the same time that he had been following Alexei Navalny's*** activities since the Moscow mayoral elections in 2013, and he set up the subscription to support anti-corruption investigations. Now, according to Grishin, his life has completely changed, and he has a young child he must care for.
The phone seized during the search of Grishin was confiscated in favor of the state, and the badge with the letter «N» was ordered to be destroyed.
Grishin's case, like many similar cases, begins with a report from the FSB read out in court, stating that operatives requested data from Rosfinmonitoring on the merchant account number in bank transfers through the Stripe system. The security forces claim that since this merchant account belongs to FBK, all payments were made to FBK. «Mediazona» found out that this is not the case. This merchant account belongs not to FBK, but to the company Stripe. According to the publication, more than 20 cases have already been opened regarding donations to FBK through this system. In most of the cases already considered, fines have been imposed.
However, in December, the Perovsky District Court of Moscow sentenced a cardiac surgeon with 20 years of experience, Ivan Tishchenko***, to four years in a general regime penal colony. Tishchenko was found guilty of «financing extremism» for donations to FBK.
* Recognized in Russia as an «extremist» organization.
** Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent».
*** Included in the list of «terrorists and extremists».