MOSCOW, September 30 (RAPSI) – Prince of Monaco Albert II has refused to extradite former co-owner of Vneshprombank Georgy Bedzhamov, who is accused of large-scale fraud, to Russia, RIA Novosti reported on Friday.

On July 20 the Moscow City Court upheld the ruling of a lower court putting Bedgamov on the international wanted list.

On July 12 Monaco’s Court of Appeal ruled against Bedzhamov’s extradition to Russia, where he is charged with embezzling nearly one billion rubles ($15.3 mln). Condition of Bedzhamov’s health was cited by Monaco’s official as a reason for such refusal.

Earlier, the press-service of the Prosecutor General’s Office has confirmed that in April 2015 Bedzhamov was arrested in Monaco.

Bedzhamov is a brother of another co-owner of the bank, Larisa Markus, who was detained on December 22, 2015, on suspicion of fraud.

According to investigators, in 2013 Markus along with her accomplices created an organized criminal group to embezzle the bank’s funds. They allegedly granted loans to sub-companies and did not refund money to the bank.

Investigators claim that the group embezzled 932.1 million rubles ($14.3 million). Markus, who is currently in detention, faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Vneshprombank is number 40 in RIA Rating’s ranking of Russian banks by assets, as of January 1, 2016.

On December 18, 2015, the Central Bank appointed a temporary administration in Vneshprombank for six months to appraise its financial performance. It was revealed that massive transactions had been conducted to transfer assets out of the bank.

In March, the Moscow Commercial Court declared Vneshprombank bankrupt.