KHODORKOSVKY'S LAWYERS DEMAND THAT THEIR SWISS BANK ACCOUNTS BE UNFROZEN

Subscribe
MOSCOW, July 21 (RIA Novosti) - On July 27, a Moscow municipal court will consider an appeal filed by the lawyers Vasily Alexanyan and Anton Drel against the arrest of their accounts at Swiss banks. Both men are on the defense team of Mikhail Khodorkosvky, former chief executive of the Yukos oil giant.

A source in the municipal court told RIA Novosti that the accounts had been arrested in keeping with a March 19 ruling by Moscow's Basmany district court.

According to Henrich Padva, another defense lawyer representing Khodorkovsky in court, investigators claim they have grounds to believe that some of the funds allegedly misappropriated by Yukos shareholders have been put in Swiss banks, including on Alexanyan's and Drel's accounts.

Twenty Yukos shareholders had their Swiss bank accounts frozen under the Basmanny court's March 19 ruling. The Prosecutor General's Office says that Khodorkovsky, Platon Lebedev, Leonid Nevzlin, and several other core shareholders have a total of over 6.2 billion Swiss francs (about $5 billion dollars) deposited in Switzerland.

"It is not about assets, shares or other securities, but about personal monetary deposits of individuals involved, this way or another, in defrauding the state of large amounts of money," prosecutors say.

Khodorkovsky, in custody since last October, is facing charges of fraud, embezzlement, and tax evasion, among others. He maintains his innocence.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала