You're reading: Italian fined 2,000 rubles for violating Russian visa terms

An Italian employee of the European Commission, Giuseppe Pozzi, has been found guilty of violating the terms of his stay in Russia. The Sormovo District Court of Nizhny Novgorod has imposed "a penalty in the form of a 2,000-ruble administrative fine to be paid to the state, without administrative expulsion from Russia," the judge presiding over the Pozzi case hearing said on Friday.

The decision can be appealed within ten days after receiving a copy of the court ruling.

Inspector Pavel Tatarov of the Russian Federal Migration Service (FMS) office for the Nizhny Novgorod region told the court that violation of Russian immigration rules was manifested in the inconsistency between the stated and actual purposes of entry.

“Namely: (the Italian citizen) entered Russia with a visa stating a ‘private’ purpose of visit, but traveled as a tourist in the period from July 8 through August 11,” said the regional FMS official.

According to the court filings, during his trip Pozzi visited a number of Russian cities, in particular, Perm, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude and the Olkhon Lake.

The administrative case files were received by the court on August 13. The hearing was postponed until August 22 because the foreign national requested a lawyer.

Pozzi was charged under Article 18.8 part two of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses (breach of the entry rules or the conditions of stay (residence) in Russia which has manifested in the inconsistency between the stated purpose of entry and the actual purpose of an activity or occupation pursued during the stay (residence) in Russia).

The article imposes a penalty in the form of an administrative fine between 2,000 and 5,000 rubles, with or without administrative expulsion from Russia.

The head of Press and Information at the European Union Delegation to Russia, Soren Liborius, told Interfax earlier that the EC employee Pozzi was in Russia on holiday.

This is a private trip and has nothing to do with his employer, he said. Apparently, there has been some misunderstanding or an administrative problem arose relating to his visa, Liborius said, adding that the Italian Embassy was providing Pozzi with consular assistance.