MOSCOW, May 14 (RAPSI) – The Moscow City Court has ordered Russian anti-corruption campaigner and opposition stalwart Alexei Navalny who remains under house arrest to pay 500,000 (approximately $14,400) for defamatory statements through his blog, RAPSI learned in court  Wednesday.

The claim against Navalny was filed in December 2013 by Konstantin Kostin, head of the Civil Society Development Foundation, an NGO involved in political research.

Kostin said that the article which was published on Navalny’s blog on September 26 contained false information. The text was about the Montenegrin company called MRD. Navalny was said to be the beneficiary of that company which he denied.

Navalny said that his signature was forged in the registration documents of MRD. He suspected Kostin of being involved in the purported forgery.

Kostin demanded refutation of published statements and sought 3 million rubles in compensation. The Lyublinsky District Court of Moscow granted the claim in part in late February and ordered Navalny to pay 100,000 rubles (approximately $2,800). Kostin filed an appeal demanding the compensation to be raised.

Navalny ran for Moscow mayor in 2013, losing to the Kremlin-backed incumbent, but boosting his public exposure through a vigorous grassroots campaign. He gained just over 27 percent of the vote, well above what initial polls suggested he would get.

At this point he stands accused with his brother Oleg in a fraud case involving cosmetics company Yves Rocher Vostok. Investigators allege that the Navalny brothers embezzled upwards of 26 million rubles (over $723,000) from the cosmetics company, as well as upwards of 4 million rubles (over $111,000) from the Multidisciplinary Processing Company by way of a fraud scheme. The brothers were further charged with having laundered 21 million rubles.

Alexei Navalny has already been given a suspended sentence of five years for the embezzlement of funds owned by Kirovles company.

He was placed under house arrest on March 28 and prohibited from using the Internet. Prosecutors moved for more limited restrictions against Navalny after he participated in an unsanctioned protest in central Moscow, where he was accused of making a scene and resisting arrest.