THE CRIMINAL CASE OF THE BENEFICIARY OF RUSKOBANK WAS SENT TO COURT

The Prosecutor General's Office has sent an indictment in the case against the ex-beneficiary of the bankrupt Ruskobank Khachatur Muradov to the court for consideration. He is accused of embezzling about 600 million rubles. The investigation found that the assets of the credit structure were withdrawn through the issuance of loans to fictitious companies. The bank was also engaged in issuing loans, using previously pledged securities as collateral.

Initially, the amount of damage was about 1 billion rubles. Later, the prosecution clarified the amount of theft. In May 2024, the qualification was corrected. Now Muradov is accused of a particularly large embezzlement.

The ex-financier refused to testify and did not admit guilt. The investigation considers the evidence of the prosecution to be sufficient: witness statements, as well as documentation seized during the investigation, played a key role in the case. The victim in the case is the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA), representing the interests of the bank's depositors.

In July 2023, Muradov was detained in the capital after his return from Armenia, where he had been for a long period of time. The Basmanny court, relying on the petition of the investigators, took him into custody.

According to the prosecution, the theft of Ruskobank's assets was carried out immediately before it lost its license. The central bank withdrew it in June 2016. The basis was a credit policy implemented in excess of acceptable risks. This led to investments in low-quality assets.

According to law enforcement officers, Muradov's actions led the bank to financial difficulties. It was he who authorized unsecured loans and repeated pledges of the same securities. By the time of the collapse, Ruskobank owed depositors, mainly individuals, about 7.5 billion rubles, of which only about 3 billion were returned to the DIA.

The Central Bank and the DIA have filed applications with law enforcement agencies, demanding to investigate the actions of Ruskobank's management on several counts, including fraud, deliberate bankruptcy and abuse of authority. However, apart from Muradov, only Anton Yurkovets, the first deputy director of the bank, was criminally responsible.

In 2017, the Leningrad Region court found Yurkovets guilty of causing damage to the bank for 180 million rubles and imposed a fine of 400 thousand rubles. The case against Muradov has now been brought to court. Its development will be closely monitored by depositors and regulators.