Court sanctions arrest of ex-Deputy Minister Bazhanov over embezzlement in Rosagroleasing
MOSCOW. April 11 (Interfax) - The Moscow Tverskoy Court has sanctioned the arrest of former Deputy Agriculture Minister Alexei Bazhanov over the case of the embezzlement of 1.1 billion rubles from Rosagroleasing.
According to the Interfax correspondent, the court ruled in favor of a relevant request filed by investigators.
The court has sided with investigators who said that the former official had to be detained because he could flee or influence the investigation.
The ruling said that investigators made relevant reference to the fact that Bazhanov's former employees had tried to destroy documents related to the case during searches.
An investigator said in court that a fourth suspect in the case, Voronezh businessman Sergei Tsvetkov, was out of prison and suspects were helping him to hide.
Two suspects in the embezzlement case have been arrested: former executive of Masloproduct Roman Malov and former General Director of Masloproduct-BIO Sergei Dudenkov.
Bazhanov's lawyers have asked the court to release him on bail of 50 million rubles or put him under house arrest. An investigator said that either would allow the suspect to influence the investigation.
Rosagroleasing is a state-owned company supplying the agriculture industry with equipment and breeding animals.
On November 27, 2012, spokesperson of the Russian Interior Affairs Ministry, Andrei Pilipchuk told Interfax that former Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik was a witness in the Rosagroleasing case.
A source familiar with the case materials told Interfax on April 10 that Bazhanov's arrest would clarify Skrynnik's role in the Rosagroleasing case.