Ilya Gorbunov has been sentenced to 10 years in a strict regime colony and fined 500,000 rubles after being found guilty of extortion and drug possession. The Petrogradsky District Court delivered the verdict, with Judge Irina Grechishko presiding over the case.

Gorbunov was found guilty under Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (extortion) and Article 228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (drug possession).

The charges stem from an incident where Gorbunov allegedly demanded several million rubles from Alexander Malkevich, a future deputy, in exchange for suppressing discrediting information, a practice referred to as blocking negativity.

During his defense, Gorbunov maintained his innocence, claiming that he intended to provide PR services to Malkevich. He stated that the money exchanged was for a future contract signing, which was interrupted by his detention.

Furthermore, authorities discovered a grinder with traces of drugs on Gorbunov during his arrest.

Gorbunov has been linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Patriot media holding, reportedly serving as the curator of a “troll factory” and head of “special projects.”

In his final statement, Gorbunov argued that a guilty verdict against him posed a threat to the entire journalistic community.