MOSCOW, December 2 (RAPSI, Kirill Ryabchikov) – The Moscow City Court on Monday refused to overturn seizure of nearly 10 million rubles ($150,000) belonging to the former governor of Russia’s Khabarovsk Region Victor Ishayev charged in the Rosneft embezzlement case, RAPSI reported from the courtroom.

The hearing was held behind closed doors.

Earlier, a lower court seized Ishayev’s 9 million rubles ($140,000), $13,000, 500 euros, 2,000 Japanese yens ($18) and 859 Chinese yuan ($120).

Ishayev was arrested in Moscow on March 28. On March 29, Moscow’s Basmanny District Court denied a 15-million-ruble ($232,000) bail to Ishayev and placed him under house arrest.

From 2013 to 2018, Ishayev was a vice-president of Rosneft. According to investigators, between 2014 and 2017, he fraudulently ensured signing of premises lease agreements for the company office’s use in the Khabarovsk Region at an overvalued price. The contracts were concluded with Ishayev’s firm.

Investigators claim that damage caused by Ishayev is estimated at 5 million rubles (about $80,000).

The defendant pleads not guilty. According to his defense lawyer Pavel Zaytsev, his client sent a payment transaction confirmation in the amount of 5.7 million rubles to Rosneft on April 5.