The lawyer of ex Bank of Moscow chief Andrei Borodin believes that his client’s property might have been arrested in connection with the probe into the facts stated in the Anatomy of Protest-2 film.
Lawyer Vladimir Krasnov reminded that Borodin is mentioned in the film as an Opposition sponsor. Following a check into the firm, the authorities opened criminal proceedings over organization of mass disturbances.
Krasnov noted that the criminal prosecution of his client had been politically-motivated from the beginning. “At present, an opportunity has presented itself to arraign him on suspicion of funding a government overthrow,” the lawyer told Echo Moscow radio.
Earlier on Tuesday, the press service of the Interior Ministry’s investigation department told Tass that the property of former Bank of Moscow executives Andrei Borodin and Dmitry Akulinin had been arrested.
“To reimburse the damage caused by illegal actions by former Bank of Moscow president Andrei Borodin, his real estate – land plots, real estate in unfinished construction projects and expensive cars – have been placed under arrest. His Bank of Moscow shares are under arrest, too.
“The investigators arrested more than 400 million dollars belonging to former Bank of Moscow head Borodin. The money is on accounts at foreign banks in Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg.
“The Interior Ministry’s investigation department, aside from looking into the circumstances of the theft of money belonging to the state and its expatriation /by issuing unsecured loans/, committed by former directors of the above loan institution, is carrying out a range of measures to find he property belonging to the defendants with subsequent placing it under arrest.
“The investigators are closely cooperating with the Finance Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, Interpol, the Fiscal Monitoring Service and law-enforcement bodies of a number of foreign states.
Also, Moscow’s Tverskoi court met the investigator’s petition to arrest more than eight million Bank of Moscow shares belonging to Borodin through the Plenium Invest Ltd /registered on the British Virgin Islands/.
“After an examination of the legislation of the Virgin islands, the investigators are justified in assuming that Borodin might use the local law on commercial companies for conceal his ownership of Bank shares.
“Also, the investigators arrested more than 125 million roubles on the account of the above company /dividends/,” the investigation department said.
Borodin’s property in Latvia – two apartments and a land plot – have been arrested as well. The request for legal assistance was forwarded to law-enforcement bodies of Latvia.
“The investigators will make several trips and have international meetings within the framework of this case in the nearest future,” the investigation department said.
Former Bank of Moscow president Andrei Borodin and former first vice-president of the same bank Dmitry Akulinin are outside of Russia and are on the list of wanted criminals. The investigators accuse them on several counts of theft, including the theft of 12.45 million roubles belonging to the loan institution.
The investigators said Borodin and Akulinin, abetted by the Kuznetsky Most Development company president and the director general of the Premier Estate, stole the Bank’s money which ended up on the account of INTEKO headed by Yelena Baturina at the time. Her spouse, former Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov and Baturina were later questioned within the case.