Investigation drops case against Browder on charges of illegal purchase of Gazprom shares - source
MOSCOW. Sept 4 (Interfax) - The investigation has closed a criminal case against William Browder, a co-founder of the investment fund Hermitage Capital Management, on charges of illegal purchase of Gazprom shares, an informed source told Interfax.
"The criminal case regarding the purchase of Gazprom shares has been closed due to the absence of corpus delicti," the source said.
Russian law enforcement agencies had earlier accused Browder of illegally acquiring Gazprom shares in circumvention of a ban on such transactions for foreign companies. The investigation presumed that, by purchasing these shares, Browder sought to exert influence on Russia's gas monopoly.
Russian Prosecutor General's Office spokesperson Alexander Kurennoi said in May 2016 that the investigation was probing Browder's possible involvement in the illegal purchase of at least 200 million Gazprom shares from 1997 to 2005, deliberate bankruptcy of a number of companies, and tax evasion.
Moscow's Tverskoi District Court is currently hearing a criminal case against Browder and his business partner Ivan Cherkasov charged with three counts of deliberate bankruptcy.
The prosecution estimated the damage caused by the defendants at 3.5 billion rubles. Three divisions of the Federal Tax Service in Moscow are treated as the aggrieved parties. They have filed a civilian lawsuit against Browder and Cherkasov in the amount of the damage supposedly caused by their actions.
The proceedings have been held in the absence of the defendants. The court told Interfax the next hearing was scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Moscow time on September 7.
