The verdict of the Higher Court in Podgorica, which sentenced Moldovan citizen of Russian origin Maksim Jakubovski to two years and 10 months in prison for money laundering and document forgery, was overturned by the Court of Appeal, deciding on the appeals of the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT) and the defense attorney of the accused Maksim and his wife Ekaterina.
As announced by the Court of Appeal, after the council session held on December 2, the court issued a decision upholding the SDT's appeal and returning the case to the first instance court for a retrial.
"By the first-instance verdict, the accused Iakubovski Maxim was found guilty of committing the criminal offense of money laundering and the criminal offense of forging a document and sentenced to a single prison sentence of 2 years and 10 months. This accused was imposed a security measure of confiscation of items, namely several payment cards that were used to commit the criminal offense of money laundering. The accused Ekaterina Iakubovski, the wife of the accused Maxim, was acquitted of the charge of committing the criminal offense of money laundering due to lack of evidence," the court statement said.
It is added that the Court of Appeals found that the appeal of the SDT was well-founded and that the first-instance verdict was affected by significant violations of the provisions of criminal procedure, which are described in detail in the reasoning of the decision, the consequence of which is the annulment of the first-instance verdict and the return of the case to the first-instance court for retrial.
"The first instance court was instructed that it was necessary to eliminate significant violations of the provisions of criminal procedure in the retrial, present all previously presented evidence and others it finds necessary, specifically clarify the circumstances and facts regarding the actions of the accused Ekaterina Iakubovski, and after doing so, through a comprehensive analysis and proper assessment of all presented evidence, both individually and in their mutual connection, establish all decisive facts, and provide clear reasons for them, all with the aim of making a lawful and proper decision," the Court of Appeal explained.
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