MOSCOW, August 16 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko) – Moscow’s Tagansky District Court on Tuesday extended the detention of the Russian Authors’ Society’s (RAO) head Sergei Fedotov charged with a 500 million ruble ($7.8 mln) fraud until September 17, RAPSI reports from the courtroom.

The hearing was held behind closed doors upon investigators’ petition.

The Moscow City Court earlier invalidated the Tagansky court’s refusal to hear an appeal filed by Fedotov against initiation of a criminal case against him and remanded the complaint for reconsideration because of committed violations.

As previously reported, employees of the Interior Ministry and the Federal Security Service (FSB) revealed fraud scheme over illegal alienation of RAO’s property. Damage to the RAO’s property amounted to 500 million rubles ($7.6 mln). In July, Fedotov was charged with commission of large scale fraud.

Fedotov’s lawyer Denis Baluyev told journalists that his client is a victim of calumniation.

The Russian Authors’ Society is a non-governmental organization created in 1993 for collective management of author’s rights. At this moment over 25,000 people are listed as its members.