“The fact that a person served half his time is not enough. A person can be released earlier if he had really changed for the better. And this is not only about passively following the prison schedule,” representatives from the Prosecutor’s office said, as quoted by Interfax.

The officials added that, according to their sources, Grabovoy violated prison rules by keeping forbidden things in his cell.

46-year-old Grigory Grabovoy was sentenced to prison in 2008 – at first to 11 years, then to 8. The court found him guilty in a large scale fraud – in particular, “the healer” promised his clients to cure AIDS or cancer or even raise their dead relatives from the dead.

Grabovoy first came to the attention of law enforcement agencies in 2001 when he established a cult thriving in 27 regions of Russia where his disciples “worked miracles” for anyone willing to pay. Taking part in their seminar cost 2,000 roubles ($66), whereas the price for individual classes were 40,000 roubles ($1300). All the money received from such classes (called “voluntary donations”) ended up in the account of  “Grabovoy’s fund”.

In 2004, after the Beslan school siege, Grabovoy’s disciples appeared in the city, offering resurrection of dead children “for only $1300”.