MOSCOW, April 13 (RAPSI) – The Moscow City Court has upheld unification of criminal cases against former head of the Federal Border Development Agency Dmitry Bezdelov charged with embezzlement and his alleged accomplices, RAPSI learnt in the court on Thursday.

In December 2016, the Meschansky District Court of Moscow has ruled to return the case against Bezdelov to the Prosecutor General’s Office. The case was also unified with similar cases against other defendants. Earlier, lawyer Boris Kozhemyakin expressed an opinion that cases may be united because of potential existence of documents proving innocence of the agency’s ex-head in another case.

Investigators claim that in 2009, Bezdelov, then head of the Federal Border Development Agency, conspired with a number of other people to embezzle public funds allocated for the construction of checkpoints on the state border. From September 2009 to May 2013, they allegedly stole and laundered up to 490 million rubles ($7.5 million).

Bezdelov resigned from his post in October 2013 after a probe had revealed inappropriate use of budget funds by the agency. He was arrested in Rome in October 2014 after he had been put on the international wanted list. Italy's court of appeals upheld the decision to extradite Bezdelov to Russia in October 2015. The Supreme Court left the judgment intact.

Two defendants in the case were sentenced earlier to long prison terms. Another one absconded during the trial and was put on the federal wanted list.