MOSCOW, January 12 (RAPSI) – Russian state corporation Roscosmos filed a lawsuit with the Moscow Commercial Court Center seeking recovery of 2.2 billion rubles (about $36.7 mln) from Khrunichev State Research and Production Space, a representative of the court told RAPSI on Thursday.

The lawsuit reached the court on January 11 with information regarding plaintiff’s grounds for its demands not being available yet.

In January 2016, Roscosmos filed a lawsuit with the Moscow Commercial Court demanding 3.2 billion rubles (about $54 mln) from the Khrunichev Space Center which is responsible for the development of “Proton” and “Angara” space rockets. In November, parties claimed that they may settle the dispute.

In September, the Gagarinsky District Court of Moscow gave former Khrunichev Center’s Deputy Director General in charge of Economics Alexander Ostroverkh a five-year suspended sentence for embezzling 285 million rubles ($4.5 million). Ostroverkh admitted his guilt in full and cooperated with investigators, so he was the first person sentenced in this case.

In December, the Dorogomilovsky District Court of Moscow began hearings in a criminal case against other high-ranking managers of the center over embezzlement of 360 million rubles (about $6 mln). Vladimir Nesterov, former director general of the space center, was charged in this case. Investigators believe that Nesterov created a criminal group to embezzle government funds from the center in 2007. It included Mikhail Yakushin, the center’s chief accountant, Dmitry Dyakonov, head of the Ekopravo economic and legal consultancy, and several other unidentified persons.

The Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center is one of the country's leading space enterprises. Currently the research center’s main priority is construction of “Proton” and “Angara” space rockets. In 2014, it was revealed that enterprise faces financial troubles.