Rive Gauche co-owner Meyer, charged with stealing over 2.4 bln rubles, remanded in custody

ST. PETERSBURG. Dec 10 (Interfax) - The Moskovsky District Court of St. Petersburg has ordered that co-owner of the Rive Gauche cosmetics chain August Meyer, who has been charged with massive fraud, be remanded in custody until February 7, 2022, the joint press service for the city's courts said on Thursday.

Meyer, in turn, denies any wrongdoing. He and his lawyers sought restraining measures such as house arrest, bail of five million rubles, or an injunction order. After the judges retired for deliberation, Meyer said that he is not a flight risk, while his lawyers called the situation a business conflict.

As reported, Meyer has been charged with two counts of fraud exceeding 2.4 billion rubles in total. A case into the second episode was opened in September of this year.

Investigators regard Meyer's wife and business partner Inna Meyer as his accomplice.

Media outlets reported the detention of the Meyers the day before. According to media reports, the spouses have been accused of misappropriating money received from Sberbank to fund the development of the Yulmart online retailer shortly before the company collapsed.

Sberbank, in turn, has put Yulmart's debt to the bank at 2.4 billion rubles.

Meyer is a co-owner of the Rive Gauche cosmetics chain and a former co-owner of the bankrupt Yulmart Internet retailer.