No new cases against Magnitsky have been opened - Interior Ministry
MOSCOW. Jan 13 (Interfax) - The Russian Interior Ministry has denied the information reported by Hermitage Capital stating that a new criminal case has been opened against Hermitage Capital Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a Moscow detention facility in 2009.
The Hermitage Capital press service earlier reported that a new criminal case had been opened against Magnitsky, who is suspected of stealing 5.4 billion rubles.
"This information is false. The Investigations Department of the Interior Ministry and other investigative bodies of the ministry have not opened any new criminal cases against Magnitsky," the Interior Ministry press center told reporters on Monday, adding that "It is not a practice to open criminal cases against dead people in the Russian Federation."
Hermitage Capital auditor Magnitsky was arrested on the counts of tax evasion and died at a Moscow detention facility on November 16, 2009.
The Moscow Tverskoi Court convicted him in absentia on July 11, 2013, of evading over 522 million ruble taxes through the falsification of tax declarations and the unlawful use of benefits for persons with disabilities.
The case was dropped but rehabilitation was denied to Magnitsky due to the proof of his guilt.