MOSCOW, April 19 - RAPSI. A new charge was brought against Alexander Timofeyev, former head of the CreditTrust bank suspected of intended bankruptcy, the Interior Ministry's Investigative Department said on Thursday.

According to investigators, Timofeyev, as CreditTrust's chairman of the board, and Alexander Slesarev, as the owner, moved liquid assets out of the bank with the intention to cause bankruptcy.

As a result of the bank's poor financial state, Timofeyev and Slesarev transferred the assets so as to keep hold of client deposits and to avoid premature reimbursement of the bank's promissory notes. In total, around 1.2 billion rubles ($40.63 million) were withdrawn from the bank.

Circa 1,500 legal entities and private individuals lost their savings as a result of the bankruptcy.

In 2008, Timofeyev was charged with embezzlement and illegal banking activity. The former head of the bank is now facing up to six years in prison.

The Moscow Commercial Court found CreditTrust bankrupt in August 2004.