Ex-minister Serdyukov comes to court to testify in Oboronservice case
MOSCOW. Jan 15 (Interfax) - Former Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov has arrived at Moscow's Presnensky Court to testify in the case of large-scale embezzlement at the Oboronservice company, controlled by the Russian Defense Ministry.
Serdyukov appeared in a media-packed courtroom on Thursday morning, an Interfax correspondent has reported.
The ex-minister is expected to be questioned during today's court session.
Serdyukov was officially summoned for questioning as part of the Oboronservice embezzlement case.
Sources familiar with the situation told Interfax on Wednesday that this key witness would appear in court.
"Serdyukov's representatives have announced that there is a 99.9% certainty that he will arrive at the Presnensky Court of Moscow to testify as a witness," one of the sources said.
Serdyukov's summoning to court had previously been postponed three times because one of the defendants was ill.
Another source told Interfax that the former defense minister had been summoned to court at the initiative of the State Prosecutor, who, according to the source, wanted to ask Serdyukov whether or not he had given direct instructions to Yevgenia Vasilyeva, former head of the Defense Ministry's property management department and a key suspect in the Oboronservice case, to conclude deals involving the Defense Ministry's assets.
Serdyukov served as Russia's defense minister when a criminal investigation was opened into the sale of real estate and the embezzlement of funds belonging to JSC Oboronservice, controlled by the Defense Ministry.
