MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Russian Federal Tax Service (FTS) is seeking in court the compensation of damage worth over 4 billion rubles ($68.6 million) from Hermitage Capital investment fund co-founder William Browder and his business partner Ivan Cherkasov.
"The damaged party, represented by the FTS, submitted to the defendants the claim about damage compensation worth over 4 billion rubles," the case's documents read.
The court is considering the case of Browder and Cherkasov in absentia as the defendants put on the international wanted list are residing in London.
In 2013, Russia sentenced Browder in absentia to nine years in prison for tax evasion and falsely claiming tax breaks for hiring disabled persons. In February, a Moscow court authorized in absentia the arrest of Cherkasov and Browder and established the period of detention within two months from the date of their transfer to Russian law enforcement agencies in case of an extradition or deportation.
Moreover, it was reported in July that the Russian Prosecutor General's Office query to US law enforcement agencies regarding illegal actions of the international investment group controlled by Browder, including acquisition of 200 million Gazprom shares, tax evasion and deliberate bankruptcy of a number of companies, has remained unanswered.
