MOSCOW, December 28 - RAPSI. The defendant in the former State Duma deputy Ashot Yegiazaryan's defamation lawsuit has demanded the Wells Fargo bank release information about the plaintiff's accounts which may have been used to finance the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), according to court records made available to the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com).

Yegiazaryan whose parliamentary immunity has been lifted, filed a defamation lawsuit against U.S. citizen Pyotr Zalmayev in April.

The former deputy claimed that he was the victim of a corporate raid launched by a number of Russian businessmen, as well as ex-Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov. In Yegiazaryan's opinion, the conflict stemmed from his participation in the Moskva Hotel renovation project.

Yegiazaryan said that a smear campaign against him had been initiated in the United States by Zalmayev, who heads the Eurasia Democracy Initiative research association.

A possible transfer of funds to Yegiazaryan from Clear Voice corporate accounts in a U.S. bank owned by a relative of Yegiazaryan has become the key issue in the pretrial process.

The defendant is seeking information from the bank while Yegiazaryan's relatives deny making any payments from Wells Fargo to benefit the LDPR or the ex-MP.