A former Russian senator has been found guilty of attempted embezzlement and was sentenced to six years behind bars, state news agency RIA Novosti reported Monday.
Alexander Sabadash, who represented the Nenets autonomous district in Russia's Federation Council from 2003 until 2006, when he was expelled for his business activities, was found to have submitted false information regarding VAT returns in an attempt to pocket 1.8 billion rubles ($31 million) from the federal budget, RIA reported.
Russia ranked 136th out of 175 countries in Transparency International's 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index, finishing behind Pakistan and ahead of Ukraine.
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