MOSCOW, June 26 (RAPSI, Alexei Afonsky) – The Tverskoy District Court in Moscow on Friday ordered  the detention of former Trust Bank CFO Yevgeny Romakov, suspected  of billion-ruble embezzlement, until August 24, RAPSI reported from the courtroom.

Defense attorneys argued against keeping Romakov in detention for health reasons.

The investigator replied that Romakov, if left at large, could pressure witnesses and interfere with the investigation, or even run from the law.

Romakov asked the court to place him under house arrest. He said the shareholders of Otkritie Bank, which has been declared an injured party, did not oppose having him as Trust Bank’s chief executive officer. He also assured the court that he would not leave Russia or attempt to interfere with the investigation.

Investigators claim that from 2012 to 2014, Romakov, the former deputy board chairman of the bank, Oleg Dikusar, and several unidentified persons allegedly forged loan agreements for over 7 billion rubles ($136 million) with several Cyprus-based companies, and for over $118 million with companies registered in other jurisdictions.

The money was presumably transferred to the accounts of individuals, including some living abroad, that were controlled by the suspects.

Two criminal cases were opened against the suspects in April and May, which were later merged into a single case.

Russia’s Deposit Insurance Agency sustained large damages because it was required to compensate the embezzled funds to defrauded investors.

Midsized lender Trust Bank reported losses of 18.8 billion rubles ($377.6 million) in 2014 amid a financial crisis. As of December 1, 2014, its assets were estimated at over 290 billion rubles ($5.8 billion).

The Central Bank estimated that the bank’s debts exceeded the value of its assets by 67.8 billion rubles ($1.2billion).