MOSCOW, May 21 (RAPSI) – The Basmanny District Court of Moscow on Tuesday extended detention of three alleged accomplices of ex-Russian Minister for Open Government affairs Mikhail Abyzov, who stands charged with 4-billion-ruble ($62 million) embezzlement and organizing a gang, for two months, the court’s spokesperson Yunona Tsareva told RAPSI.

President of the Novosibirsk Regional Sambo Federation Nikolay Stepanov, board chairman of the First Construction Fund Alexander Pelipasov and Sergey Ilichev will be held in detention until July 25.

According to investigators, between April 2011 and November 2014, Abyzov, the owner of several offshore companies, organized and headed a criminal group. The defendant along with his accomplices allegedly embezzled 4 billion rubles from Novosibirsk Region’s Siberian Energy Company and Regional Electrical Services generation and transmission corporations and transferred the money abroad.

A criminal case was opened against Abyzov on March 25. The former minister was arrested the next day. On April 3, Moscow’s court detained Abyzov until May 25. The defendant’s motion for release on a 1-billion-ruble bail ($15.5 million) was dismissed. He pleads not guilty.

Also, on March 26, the court considered investigators’ motions to detain other alleged members of the criminal group including president of the Novosibirsk Regional Sambo Federation Nikolay Stepanov, board chairman of the First Construction Fund Alexander Pelipasov, deputy CEO of Ru-Com company Maxim Rusakov and finance director of REMIS firm Galina Fraidenberg. Ilichev, who had absconded investigators, was arrested later.