MOSCOW, August 22 - RAPSI. The Russian Financial Alliance bank is determined to file a defamation lawsuit against its former shareholder Igor Desyatnikov, who claims that his stock had been stolen.

According to the bank, the lawsuit against businessman Igor Desyatnikov to be filed on behalf of Chairman of the Board Oleg Ashmarin, Chairperson of the Executive Board Irina Sidorova, and the bank itself due to unfavorable media reports about the bank's executives.

They also plan to request opening a criminal case against Desyatnikov for knowingly providing false information about a theft.

Meanwhile, Desyatnikov's representative said the bank's statement "is strange and a form of manipulation."

In 2011, Desyatnikov filed an application with law enforcement authorities, claiming that his former partners had stolen his shares in the bank. His representative said "over 90 percent of his shares were stolen by forging the minutes of shareholder meetings while he was in the United States".