MOSCOW, May 14 (RAPSI) – Five defendants in a criminal case over unlawful bank activity in Admiralteysky bank estimated at 7 billion rubles (about $120 million) and credit fraud have pleaded not guilty, the spokesperson of Moscow’s Khamovnichesky District Court Olga Myshelova has told RAPSI.

Currently, three defendants are under house arrest while two others have been released on their own recognizance, Myshelova added.

According to investigators, the defendants acted as members of an organized criminal group from January 2012 till September 2015. They allegedly used sham firms and Admiralteysky bank accounts to cash out 7 billion rubles and receive additional 250 million rubles ($4.3 million) as commission income. Moreover, two of the defendants allegedly embezzled 150 million rubles ($2.6 million) by providing false data to the bank.

In January 2017, the Khamovnichesky District Court sentenced Musa Israilov to 3.5 years in prison for illegal banking activity and embezzlement of more than 23 billion rubles (over $370 million) from Admiralteysky bank. The court also collected 210 million rubles ($3.6 million) from Israilov on a civil claim.