Moscow City Court recognizes Yarilova's sentence as lawful

On Monday, November 18, the Moscow City Court recognized the verdict of former Deputy Minister of Culture Olga Yarilova in the case of abuse of power as lawful.

It is specified that she was sentenced to seven years in prison for including an ice cream museum in the Pushkin Card program.

"The appeal instance left the sentence in force," - quotes from the courtroom "RIA Novosti".

Yarilova was detained on April 19, 2023 and soon arrested. According to the investigation, the former deputy minister illegally spent 125 million rubles on "The highest ice cream museum in the world", which is not an object of culture, but was available to visit under the "Pushkin card". The museum is located in one of the Moscow City towers and is registered as a private organization.

Yarilova pleaded not guilty in court in the case. She called the accusation incomprehensible and contradictory.

In December, Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia Alexander Bastrykin said that Yarilova's actions caused property damage to the Russian budget, so the investigation arrested her property worth 39 million rubles.

Yarilova worked in the Ministry of Culture since 2005, in 2018 became deputy head of the agency. In September 2022, she left her post at her own request.