Russia takes legal actions against ex-oligarch due to USD300 million theft

(MENAFN) A Moscow court has sentenced former Russian banking tycoon Sergey Pugachev to 14 years in a penal colony for embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars. The verdict was delivered in absentia, as Pugachev has been residing in France for several years and French authorities have declined to extradite him.

The Tverskoy District Court also imposed a fine of 800,000 rubles (approximately $9,900) and ordered the seizure of Pugachev’s assets. In addition, the court upheld a civil claim from the Deposit Insurance Agency, awarding over 28.7 billion rubles ($310 million) in damages.

Pugachev, who co-founded Mezhprombank in the 1990s and served as a senator for the Republic of Tuva, renounced his Russian citizenship in 2012 after being accused of orchestrating the bank’s collapse. He later became a French citizen.

Judge Aleksey Krivoruchko found Pugachev guilty of major financial crimes, including large-scale embezzlement and abuse of power. Russian prosecutors say that between 2008 and 2009, he conspired with bank officials Aleksandr Didenko and Dmitry Amunts to misappropriate funds.

In 2010, under Pugachev’s direction, executive board chair Marina Illarionova allegedly nullified collateral on prior loans, preventing the bank from reclaiming the borrowed sums. As a result, the loans went unpaid, contributing to losses exceeding 64.5 billion rubles (around $796 million) and ultimately leading to the bank's insolvency.

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