ORENBURG, January 24 (RIA Novosti) - A court in Russia's Urals has sentenced a novice monk at the Valaam Monastery to three and a half years in prison for counterfeiting money, a court spokesperson said on Thursday.
The man was put on the federal wanted list in late November 2005, when he forged 100-ruble bills. After his friend was caught red-handed buying goods at a local shop with the counterfeit cash, the man fled his hometown in the Urals to escape trial and sought shelter at the Vallaam Monastery, located on Lake Ladoga in the Russian north.
However, after two years at the monastery, the man felt the need to repent and sent a letter to police informing them of his address and saying that he deserved to be punished.
