MOSCOW, September 4 (RIA Novosti) - Two Moscow-based co-founders of a yacht importing company have been formally charged with large-scale smuggling, their defense lawyer said on Friday.
Vyacheslav Blinov said his clients, Andrei Lomakin and Andrei Boiko, of AG Marine, had been charged with smuggling as part of an organized criminal gang and remanded in custody pending trial.
A total of nine suspects were detained on Wednesday, including top managers from the Burevestnik holding group, the Burevestnik yacht club, Aston Martin Moscow, and AG Marine Ltd, as well as Federal Customs Service employees. All are Russian nationals.
The group allegedly avoided paying customs duties on luxury yachts and motorboats imported from Italy and Britain between 2007 and 2009.
Lomakin, managing partner at Burevestnik Group and general director of Aston Martin Moscow, was detained outside the RIA Novosti building on his way to a news conference.
About 20 law enforcement officers took part in Lomakin's detention.
Prosecutors said losses to the state budget were 1.5-3 million rubles for each yacht illegally brought into Russia.
Burevestnik Group said last November it had sold about 500 yachts and motorboats in 2007, and that its companies control 40-50% of Russia's yacht market.
