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Court Closes 'Patriarch's Apartment' Case

A Moscow court on Friday concluded proceedings in a high-profile 20 million ruble ($6 million) lawsuit involving a former health minister and Orthodox Church head Patriarch Kirill.

Lidia Leonova had sued Yury Shevchenko, a renowned surgeon and former health minister in Vladimir Putin's first government, for allegedly ruining her apartment in the famed House on the Embankment in central Moscow. Media reports have said the apartment in question is owned by Kirill. (Related article: Nasty Court Battle Ensnares Noted Clergymen)

A court found in Leonova's favor, ordering Shevchenko to pay 20 million rubles in damages.

Leonova had said the money had not yet been deposited in her account, delaying a court hearing in the case, Rapsi reported. On Friday, bailiffs confirmed to a judge at the Zamoskvoretsky Court that the payments had registered in full on Leonova's account, and the case was closed.

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