A court has rejected a petition by a lawyer for a Bank of Moscow executive against the charges his client faces.
Timovey Gridnev, who is defending Bank of Moscow first vice president Dmitry Akulinin, filed the complaint on April 7.
"Gridnev's complaint against the order … to prosecute Akulinin as a defendant in the case … has been rejected," the Tverskoi court's spokeswoman, Yekaterina Ilyina, said Tuesday.
Akulinin has been charged, along with bank president Andrei Borodin, in a criminal inquiry concerning a fraudulent loan to the Premier Estate company.
The money received under the loan was allegedly transferred to the personal bank account of Inteko head Yelena Baturina. Borodin fled to London earlier this month.
Meanwhile, the Moscow Arbitration Court on Tuesday ruled that the sale of 46.5 percent of the shares in Bank of Moscow was legal. The court rejected a suit brought by EcoTechnology against VTB, the city of Moscow's Property Department and Central Fuel Company, seeking to invalidate the sale of the shares by the city of Moscow to VTB via Central Fuel Company.
Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin withdrew his nomination to be re-elected to the supervisory board of VTB Group. Kudrin will also step down from Alrosa’s supervisory board at the mining company’s extraordinary shareholders meeting on June 30, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday in a statement on its web site, Bloomberg reported.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.