Six residents of Nizhny Novgorod were convicted for tapping into a pipeline and stealing fuel.

      On June 25, 2026, at 12:31, Incidents: The Bogorodsky City Court sentenced six residents of the Nizhny Novgorod region in a case concerning the damage to a main oil product pipeline and the theft of diesel fuel. According to the regional Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, in December 2023, a 55-year-old man organized a group of five acquaintances aged between 39 and 59. They made an illegal tap into the main pipeline in the territories of the Bogorodsky and Lyskovsky districts and stole diesel fuel until March 2025. To conceal the traces of the crime, the group members purchased plots through front persons, where they placed pumping equipment. The fuel was sold to truck drivers and through a gas station in the Knyagininsky district, where they rented a tank. The total damage exceeded 4.3 million rubles. Part of the stolen fuel, amounting to over 1.8 million rubles, was seized during operational activities conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB in the region. As reported by the press service of the regional court, the men were charged with committing a number of crimes under part 4 of article 215.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (damage to main oil product pipelines that could lead to a violation of their normal operation and was committed for selfish motives by a group of persons by prior agreement), and part 4 of article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (theft committed from oil product pipelines by an organized group on a large and especially large scale). All were found guilty. Three of them received sentences ranging from 3 years and 3 months to 5 years in a general regime colony, along with fines from 200,000 to 300,000 rubles. The others were sentenced to conditional imprisonment for 2.5 to 3 years and fines from 100,000 to 200,000 rubles. The court also partially satisfied the claims of JSC "SOGAZ" and JSC "Transneft - Upper Volga." More than 2.4 million rubles were recovered from the convicted as compensation for damages and costs for eliminating illegal taps. The "GAZ 3302" vehicle used in the commission of the crimes was confiscated for the benefit of the state. The verdict has not yet entered into legal force. It was previously reported that a Nizhny Novgorod entrepreneur would be tried for bribery and fraud in state procurement. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" has channels on Telegram and MAX. Subscribe to stay updated on major events, exclusive materials, and operational information. Copyright © 1999—2025 NIA "Nizhny Novgorod." When republishing, a hyperlink to NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" is mandatory. This resource may contain materials 18+.