MOSCOW, May 20 (RAPSI) – The Moscow City Court on Monday upheld extension of detention for Valery Rukhledev, the president of All-Russian Society of the Deaf who stands charged with embezzling over 50 million rubles (about $800,000), until May 23, RAPSI reports from the courtroom.

In May 2018, Moscow’s Tverskoy District Court ordered Rukhledev be placed under house arrest. This March, the defendant was put in detention because of repeated violations of the house arrest conditions. According to investigators, he attempted to exert pressure on the witnesses.

On April 18, detention terms of Rukhledev and ex-employee of All-Russian Society of the Deaf Tatyana Zimbatova were extended till late May.

Investigators claim that the defendants stole more than 50 million rubles from the budget of All-Russian Society of the Deaf by selling the organization’s property between 2012 and 2014. Zimbatova pleaded guilty in full, according to case papers.

Rukhledev was elected as the society’s president in 2003. The next election will be held in 2020, the organization’s website says.