MOSCOW, January 31 (RAPSI) – The Moscow City Court has refused to review an appeal filed by former president of Vneshprombank Larisa Markus sentenced to 8.5 years in a penal colony for embezzlement of 113.5 billion rubles (about $2 billion), the court documents read on Wednesday.

In December, the Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals included a 113.5- billion-ruble debt of ex- Markus in the list of creditors' claims on the bank’s request.

In October, the Moscow Commercial Court dismissed the claim lodged by Vneshprombank. The appeals court therefore overturned the ruling.

In May, Markus was sentenced to 9 years in prison for embezzling 113.5 billion rubles and later was declared bankrupt on the request of VTB24 bank. In August, her sentence was reduced by 6 months.

Investigators believe that Markus along with her brother Georgy Bedzhamov, who once co-owned Vneshprombank, created an organized crime group to siphon money from the bank. The group including former vice-president of the bank Yekaterina Glushakova allegedly granted loans to sub-companies and did not refund money to Vneshprombank. Allegedly, from May 2009 to December 2015, conspirators managed to embezzle about 114 billion rubles.

Glushakova has been sentenced to 4 years in prison. Bedzhamov has been put on the international wanted list. An arrest warrant has been issued for him in absentia.