MOSCOW, November 18 (RAPSI) – The Moscow District Commercial Court has dismissed cassation appeals of six former top managers of Vneshprombank against seizure of their property, according to court records.

In late January, the Moscow Commercial Court granted a motion to seize assets lodged by the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA). The motion was filed as part of a claim to recover about 219 billion rubles from the bank’s former executives. The Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals upheld the ruling in August.

The DIA found that from March 1, 2014 to March 14, 2016, the bank controlling persons granted loans to technical legal entities not engaged in economic activities and not having own property and incomes for servicing debts. Moreover, the deposit insurer revealed illegal funds debiting from the bank clients’ accounts. The bank’s execs also failed to take steps to prevent bankruptcy that caused damage to the financial organization.

According to the applicant, these circumstances should be considered as a reason for bringing the defendants to subsidiary liability.

In November 2018, the Moscow Commercial Court extended asset realization procedure against ex-Vneshprombank president Larisa Markus, who was declared bankrupt in May 2017 on the application of VTB24 bank. Later, the court prolonged bankruptcy proceedings against her husband Lazar Markus.

In March 2016, the Moscow Commercial Court declared Vneshprombank bankrupt. Vneshprombank was one of the top 40 by assets before it lost license in January of the same year.

Criminal cases against former top managers of Vneshprombank

In May 2017, Markus was sentenced to 9 years in prison for embezzlement. Later, her sentence was reduced by 6 months.

Investigators believe that ex-Vneshprombank president Larisa Markus along with her brother Georgy Bedzhamov, who once co-owned the bank, created an organized crime group to siphon money from the bank. The group including former vice-president of the bank Yekaterina Glushakova allegedly granted loans to sub-companies and did not refund money to Vneshprombank. Allegedly, from May 2009 to December 2015, conspirators managed to embezzle about 114 billion rubles.

Bedzhamov has been put on the international wanted list.