The Supreme Court on Friday allowed Antonina Babosyuk, deputy head of a jewelry holding arrested on gold smuggling charges, to walk out on bail — but her lawyer said she did not have the money.
The court set the bail at 30 million rubles ($1 million), but Babosyuk's lawyer Genrikh Padva said the family only had 25 million rubles, the RAPSI legal news service reported.
Babosyuk will not be allowed to leave Moscow's Lefortovo pretrial detention prison until the court gets the money. Padva said Friday that he did not know where the family would find the remaining 5 million rubles.
Babosyuk, 37, was detained in 2009 along with her husband, Vladimir Fenkov, who was refused bail. Investigators said their company, Altyn, was smuggling gold with fake probes from Kazakhstan.
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.
