ST. PETERSBURG, August 7 (RAPSI, Mikhail Telekhov) – The St. Petersburg City Court has upheld a sentence of ex-Russian senator and owner of Liviz liquor producer Alexander Sabadash in a 190 million-ruble ($3 million) embezzlement case, the United press service of St. Petersburg courts has told RAPSI.

The court also dismissed appeals filed by the bank’s chairman Sergey Somov and his deputy Dmitry Garkusha, against their sentence. The defendants have demanded to return the case to prosecutors.

In October 2017, Sabadash received 8.5 years in prison for embezzlement from the Bank Tavrichesky. Somov and Garkusha were sentenced to 7 years in prison each. Moreover, all defendants were fined 100,000 rubles ($1,600) each.

According to case papers, from June to December 2013, Somov, Garkusha and Sabadash stole 190 million rubles by signing credit contracts in violation of a procedure of approval and processing of loans established in the bank. The defendants transferred the embezzled money to accounts of foreign companies controlled by Sabadash.

In 2015, Sabadash received a 6-year prison sentence for attempted embezzlement of 1.8 billion rubles (about $30 million) involving Arkhangelsk-based developer ES-Kontaktstroy and JSC Vyborgskaya Cellulose. Sabadash, believed to be the owner of Vyborgskaya Cellulose, has organized a fraudulent VAT refund scheme, according to investigators.

Sabadash was stripped of his seat in the parliament’s upper house, the Federation Council, in 2006 after he was accused of carrying out business activities, which senators are forbidden to do.