MOSCOW, June 21 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko) – The Moscow City Court has upheld the sentence given to accountant Yelena Silina for being an accomplice in the embezzlement of almost 44 million rubles ($786,000) from the Russian Basketball Federation (RBF), RAPSI learnt from the court’s press-service on Tuesday.

By this decision, the court made final the earlier ruling of a lower court, which had found Silina guilty of aiding embezzlement and sentenced her to 3 years and 6 months in prison.

According to investigators, Silina was an accomplice of former president of RBF, Yulia Anikeyeva, who has not admitted guilt in embezzlement, and chief accountant of RBF, Mikhail Kocharyan, now deceased.

A criminal case was launched against Anikeyeva in December 2015 based on the results of financial audit conducted at the RBF after a change of management. Anikeyeva and Kocharyan were charged with large-scale fraud conducted by a group of persons on preliminary conspiracy and with the use of their work position.

Investigators believe that between February 20, 2014 and August 24, 2015 Anikeyeva and her accomplices, including Silina, embezzled almost 44 million rubles by signing fictitious civil law contracts with private entrepreneurs. Money was allegedly cashed in and transferred to Silina, who in her turn transferred it Kocharyan.