In the embezzlement case, in which the scandalous businessmen have already been punished, the statute of limitations expires and they could go free.
The Meshchansky Court of Moscow on the petition of the investigative department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation elected a measure of restraint in the form of detention for a period of 1 month and 25 days for Kirill Yakubovsky, former co-owner of the Coffee House and Azbuka Vkusa chains, Pavel Maslovsky, ex-general director of the gold mining company Petropavlovsk, and Svetlana Bezrukova, former top manager of the PPFIN Holding LLC holding company. The first two are accused of creating an organized criminal association (part 1 of article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and Svetlana Bezrukova is accused of participating in it (part 3 of article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
As Kommersant previously reported, on April 9 of this year the Presnensky Court of Moscow passed a verdict in a criminal case involving the embezzlement of $126 million from investors in the company V.M.H.Y. Holdings. Kirill Yakubovsky was sentenced to eight years in a general regime colony, gold producer Pavel Maslovsky – to thirteen and a half years, and entrepreneur Svetlana Bezrukova received five years in prison.
Since the statute of limitations on this case expires in a few days, it was assumed that all three would soon go free. However, immediately after the announcement of the verdict, investigator Svetlana Goncharova notified the defendants in the courtroom about the initiation of a new criminal case against them – on the organization of a criminal association or participation in it, as well as especially large embezzlement (Article 160 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The essence of this case is still unknown.