Former Maxi Steel group owner detained in Moscow
MOSCOW. Feb 9 (Interfax) - Nikolai Maximov, who founded the Yekaterinburg-based steel mini-mill developer Maxi Group, has been detained in Moscow, an Interfax correspondent reports from a press conference following which Maximov was detained.
Alexei Shisterov, a representative of the Sverdlovsk region's Main Investigative Directorate, told reporters that Maximov would be held for up to 48 hours and moved to Yekaterinburg.
Leonid Matveyev, a lawyer for Maximov, said that as far as he knew, Maximov was detained following an accusation that former Maxi Group top managers illegally removed funds from the company.
Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) , currently the main shareholder in Maxi Group, made the accusation, reports have said.
Matveyev said Maximov was arrested because the witnesses and the victims were pointing to him directly as a person who had committed a crime and because he had allegedly hidden from the investigation.
Asked what Maximov was being accused of, he said: "As far as I can tell, it comes under Article 201 of the Criminal Code." He denied claims the Maximov had hidden from the investigation. "How can anybody hide if they told the police, among others, on February 7 that there'd be a press conference [at the Mariott-Tverskaya hotel] on February 9?" he said.
The lawyer said Maximov would be questioned as a suspect in Yekaterinburg on February 10.
Maximov sold a controlling stake in Maxi Group to NLMK in 2007. NLMK paid a first tranche of $300 million in January 2008, and a second tranche was due to be paid following an audit. But the parties soon became locked in a dispute, with NLMK accusing Maxi Group's former top managers of stripping funds from the group. Maximov also demanded extra payment for his shares. An auction took place in June 2009 at which NLMK bought shareholdings in Maxi Group's main subsidiaries.