MOSCOW, May 23 - RAPSI. A group of businessmen are filing lawsuits on charges of fraud against the Interior Ministry, claiming roughly $193 million in damages, the Izvestia daily reports on Wednesday.

On May 23, the Moscow Commercial Court will hear the first of these lawsuits, based on the complaint of businessmen Nikolai Khokhlov and Irina Kirillova, who are claiming 2.9 million rubles ($93,350) from the ministry.

Khokhlov and Kirillova's goods were seized in Moscows Cherkizovo Market as part of an investigation into a smuggling case in 2008. Later, the court ruled that the goods must be returned to the owners. However, businessmen were then told that the goods had been destroyed. The plaintiffs, on the other hand, maintain that they saw their goods for sale in other places, despite the official report of their destruction.

Their defense attorney says tens of businessmen and suppliers from the closed Cherkizovo Market are facing similar issues. Several of them are Chinese nationals.

The circumstances look very dubious, says the attorney.

Moscow's largest market was closed in 2008 due to sanitary and fire safety violations, as well as the trade in smuggled goods. The media reported that a trading place lease there cost $50,000 a month, while monthly revenue was said to reach up to $250,000. According to the Russian Migrants Federation, the market's closure made up to 100,000 people unemployed.