MOSCOW, October 8 - RAPSI. The Moscow City Court has extended until December 24 the custody of former Interior Ministry officer Maxim Kagansky, who has been accused of attempted fraud together with Moscow Investigative Department official Nelly Dmitriyeva, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com) Monday.

The court has upheld the Presnensky District Court's ruling and rejected the defendant's appeal to be released on bail or house arrest.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor has called the decision well-grounded and motivated. The investigation has finished and Kagansky is reading his case materials.

Kagansky has been accused of attempted fraud together with Dmitriyeva, who has been charged with accepting a $3 million bribe.

Earlier, he was accused of complicity in bribery. According to the investigation, Dmitriyeva feared that she would get caught and told Kagansky to organize the bribe.

Dmitriyeva was charged with accepting a large-scale bribe from a businessman in exchange for a promise to stop investigating his case.

The case regarding the investigator has attracted the public's attention not only due to the large bribe amount, but also because media earlier reported that Dmitriyeva was involved in the case of Hermitage Capital fund consultant Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a pretrial detention center.

However, the Interior Ministry's Investigation Department refuted rumors that she had participated in the investigation of the Magnitsky case.
Dmitriyeva was released on her own recognizance.

Magnitsky was charged with involvement in large-scale corporate tax evasion. He died in a Moscow pretrial detention center on November 16, 2009 after spending nearly a year behind bars.

Hermitage Capital maintained that it had paid 5.4 billion rubles ($174.46 million) in taxes, but that the money was stolen by corporate raiders with the help of law enforcement officials.

Magnitsky's prosecution has been attributed to the theft.