The court sentenced the former chairman of the board of directors of BTA Bank JSC Mukhtar Ablyazov in absentia to 15 years in prison, confirmed on Monday the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation. The civil claim of BTA Bank for more than 173 billion rubles is also satisfied.
The Tagansky District Court of Moscow passed a verdict in absentia against the former chairman of the board of directors of BTA Bank JSC Mukhtar Ablyazov, the chairman of the board of the same bank Roman Solodchenko, as well as their subordinates Artur Trofimov, Igor Kononko, Tatyana Paraskevich, Anatoly Ereshchenko and Alexander Udovenko.
"They are found guilty of committing crimes under part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Fraud”), part 3 of Article 174.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (legalization of property obtained as a result of the commission of a crime), as well as subparagraphs “a”, “b” Part 3 of Art. 165 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (causing particularly large damage by deception by an organized group),” the statement reads.
Ablyazov was sentenced to 15 years in prison, Kononko to 10, Paraskevich to 12 years. Ereshchenko and Udovenko were sentenced to 13 years in prison each. All of them will serve their sentences in a general regime correctional colony. The court also satisfied the civil claim of BTA Bank for over 173 billion rubles.
The court found that in 2006-2009 Ablyazov and his subordinates stole more than 58 billion rubles from the bank. To this end, they issued loans secured by land plots acquired with borrowed funds. Subsequently, Ablyazov organized the illegal termination of the mortgage agreements, and the bank was deprived of the opportunity to foreclose on the pledged items, while the accomplices disposed of the property at their own discretion.
As interim measures against the claim of BTA Bank JSC during the preliminary investigation, arrests were imposed, including on land plots, shares of offshore companies that are Ablyazov’s assets, as well as on his accounts and residential real estate of other accomplices. The total amount of the seized property is estimated at more than 24 billion rubles.
The convicts are on the wanted list.
Original source: EU Reporter Correspondent, EU REPORTER
