MOSCOW, June 18 (RAPSI, Diana Gutsul) - The Tverskoy Court of Moscow on Tuesday ruled that a new defense attorney must be appointed in the case against Hermitage Capital auditor Sergei Magnitsky, who who was charged with evading taxes and died in detention in 2009, and Hermitage CEO William Browder, RAPSI reports from the court.

The court also stated that Browder's lawyer Kirill Goncharov, who has missed several hearings, is still obliged to attend court sessions.

Goncharov missed the Monday hearing, which was adjourned to determine the cause for his absence, but the lawyer was unable to be reached by telephone. Goncharov did not attend the hearing on Tuesday either, for the third time. Magnitsky's lawyer said that Goncharov was ill. 

As a result of the lawyer's absence, the court has decided to request that Moscow Bar Chamber President Genri Reznik settle the issue and has postponed the hearing until June 21.

Browder is believed to have illegally purchased Gazprom stock when foreign ownership of the world's largest natural gas producer was restricted.

He is also on trial in absentia alongside the deceased Sergei Magnitsky for the alleged embezzlement of hundreds of millions of rubles from the federal budget by manipulating tax returns between September and October 2007.

Hermitage Capital maintains that it paid 5.4 billion rubles ($180 million) in taxes, but the money was stolen by corporate raiders with the help of law enforcement officials.

Sergei Magnitsky, who died in pretrial detention in Moscow in 2009, was prosecuted for this theft. The case was closed after his death, only to be reopened later. Under Russian law, a person can be prosecuted after his death.

In March 2013, Browder announced that Hermitage Capital would cease its operations in Russia.