Arrest warrant issued for ex-head of Bank of Moscow
MOSCOW. May 4 (Interfax) - Moscow's Tverskoi Court on Wednesday confirmed an arrest warrant for Andrei Borodin, the former president of Bank of Moscow who is accused of exceeding of powers and is living abroad.
An investigator of the Borodin case told the court that allegations that Borodin is taking medical treatment in London held no water. The fact that the banker speaks to reporters and makes video addresses suggests that he is not undergoing any essential treatment, the investigator said.
Borodin's lawyer Mikhail Dolomanov argued that there were discrepancies in the appeal for Borodin's arrest and that for this reason the court should not have examined it.
Borodin and Dmitry Akulinin, who was his first deputy, are accused of arranging a loan of 13 billion rubles for the Premier Estate company that was secured with property with questionable liquidity.
"The materials include documents to the effect that Borodin did not issue the disputed loan. It is a well-known fact it hasn't done any harm to anyone," said Dolomanov. The loan "is not overdue" and "interest on it is accurately being paid down to the kopek," the lawyer said.
After the court session, Dolomanov told Interfax that the ruling sanctioning Borodin's arrest would be appealed within the next three days.
Later a source told Interfax that representatives of Borodin had presented the Russian authorities with a medical statement that the banker is receiving treatment for a nervous breakdown. This means Borodin cannot be held accountable for disobeying summonses for interrogations, the source said.
Borodin headed Bank of Moscow since the lender was founded.
Early this year VTB bought the city administration's stake in the bank. After months of confrontation with Bank of Moscow's former management, VTB managed to install its protege Mikhail Kuzovlyov as president of the bank.
Borodin was dismissed as Bank of Moscow president by court order before the shareholders' meeting that handed the seat to Kuzovlyov.
