THE HEADS OF THE "RUSSIAN FUNDS" ARE SUSPECTED OF EMBEZZLEMENT OF 8.8 BILLION

According to Kommersant, both men were detained by the metropolitan police on June 22.

Evgeny Novitsky, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Defense RTI (JSC), was previously placed under house arrest. The investigation believes that representatives of the "Russian Funds" conspired with him back in 2016, selling a non-state pension fund. 3,213 billion were soon stolen from it.

According to law enforcement officials, the suspects may be involved in fraud worth 8.8 billion (according to Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The victim of the crime were six non-state pension funds, which were then declared bankrupt. Mechel-Fund lost 3,378 million rubles. Investigators believe that 605.2 million were stolen from the Non-State Pension Fund "Cerih", 697.7 million from the commercial and Industrial Pension Fund and 598.4 million from the Non-State Pension Fund of Metallurgists. The defendants in the case did not admit their guilt in the alleged acts.

The 59-year-old Vasiliev is considered one of the founders of investment projects in the Russian Federation. He managed to work as a top manager in the capital branch of Tveruniversalbank, JSCB IFC. He headed the stock exchange in St. Petersburg in 2013-2016. Since April 1999, he has headed the Russian Foundations.

Novitsky became a top manager of the Joint-Stock Financial Corporation Sistema back in 1995. Until 2005, he held the status of president of the company, and until 2013 he was a member of the board of Directors. Until 2022, Novitsky worked as deputy head of PhosAgro, but then left the head's chair due to the introduction of international sanctions against him.