Court arrests former Russian minister on fraud charges rejecting $15.5mn bail

Former Russian minister Nikolay Abyzov will remain in custody pending his trial on charges of embezzlement and organizing a criminal group, a Moscow court ruled, turning down a hefty bail offered by the defense.

The judges satisfied the request by the investigation, ruling that Abyzov will be held in pre-trial detention for at least two months, until May 25.

“The defense disagrees with the decision” and is going to appeal against it in a higher court, the ex-minister’s lawyer, Aleksandr Ansis, told the press.

The lawyer regretted that house arrest or release on bail of 1 billion rubles (around $15.5 million) offered by his team as restrictions for Abyzov were brushed away by the court.

The former minister of the so-called Open Government, who only left the cabinet last year, is accused of organizing a criminal group which swindled 4 billion rubles (around $62 million) from the shareholders of two major energy companies in Russia’s Novosibirsk Region between 2011 and 2014. The money was then hidden in offshore companies, which the ex-minister was a beneficial owner.

The 46-year-old was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on Tuesday and “resoundingly” refused to acknowledge his guilt.

Abyzov was appointed to a ministerial post in 2012 under Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and remained a cabinet member until May 2018. The man oversaw the functioning of the Open Government, a new approach, which was implemented to make the Russian state more transparent and allow the authorities to discuss its initiatives with the society.

He’s also among of the richest people in the country, with Forbes estimating his wealth at $600 million last year. Abyzov began his business career in the 1990s and occupied key roles in several of Russia’s largest energy companies, including Unified Energy System of Russia and E4 Group.

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