MOSCOW, December 4 (RAPSI) – The Moscow City Court’s Presidium has ordered a lower court to review an appeal over extension of preliminary investigation against the former bankruptcy commissioner of several Russia’s Rosneft subsidiaries Oleg Smetanin charged with embezzling more than 300 million rubles ($4.5 million), RAPSI correspondent reports from the courtroom.

The Moscow court overturned the July 17 ruling of the Tverskoy District Court on the appeal filed by Smetanin’s lawyers over investigators’ failure to notify the defendant’s team on extension of the preliminary investigation.

On December 3, the Moscow court also ruled to review another appeal filed by Smetanin over failure of investigators to organize his medical examination.

This summer, the Presidium of the Moscow City Court granted an appeal filed by Smetanin against rulings of the Tagansky District Court and the Moscow City Court on the matter of medical examination. Later, the case was transferred to the Tverskoy District Court, yet the new court made the same ruling as the previous one. The medical examination has not been completed for over a year constitution violation of Smetanin’s rights, attorney Eduard Geraskin has told RAPSI.

In November, Smetanin filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Smetanin complained against his continuous detention, placing in a metallic cage during court hearings, delay in consideration of appeals against extension of his detention and non-recognition of the fact that the charges are related to business activities, according to the lawyer.

In December 2013, a court declared Rosneft subsidiary Nizhnevartovskneftegaz bankrupt with Smetanin being appointed as a temporary manager of the company. In 2014, a debt of 3.5 billion rubles ($53.3 million) was added to the company’s creditors demands list. Investigators believe the documents related to the debt have been forged.

According to investigators, Smetanin and other defendant in the case Sergey Bogdanov have forged some documents; as a result, a paper debt amounting to 3.2 billion rubles (about $ 50 million) has been registered with the Rosneft subsidiary. According to Russia’s Interior Ministry press-service, the defendants have used the forged documents to transfer 300 million rubles ($4.5 million) to the accounts of a dummy company. The money was allegedly cashed out and stolen.

Smetanin pleaded not guilty.