MOSCOW, November 24 (RAPSI, Diana Gutsul) - Founder of major Russian developer PIK Group, Yury Zhukov, is denying all charges related to influencing a stock sale and plans to appeal his house arrest, his lawyer Tagir Samakayev told RAPSI on Monday.

On Saturday night, the Babushkinsky District Court of Moscow placed Zhukov under house arrest for one month following a motion by the prosecutor. His lawyer will appeal the ruling as he believes there are no grounds for the pretrial measure.

According to Samakayev, Zhukov is charged with violating Article 179 of the Russian Criminal Code, Compulsion to Complete a Deal or Refuse to Complete It. The crime is punishable by up to two years in prison and an 80,000 ruble fine ($1,750).

The charges stem from Zhukov allegedly forcing Sergey Poymanov, a member of the Voronezh Regional Government and former owner of Pavlovskgranit, the largest producer of non-metallic materials in Russia and Europe, to sell his shares.

The lawyer insists the claims are baseless and that his client is innocent.

“There is no evidence of a crime. At the time Zhukov is said to have committed the crime, Poymanov didn’t even own the shares and therefore could not have been forced to sell anything,” the attorney said.

The lawyer says the charges on Compulsion to Complete a Deal are related to the purchase of Pavlovskgranit shares.

Established in 1994, PIK Group is a leading Russian real estate developer. The company has built 14 mln sq meters of residential property over 20 years and provided apartments to over 220,000 Russian families.