Court sentenced ex-banker Pugachev to 14 years in prison in absentia

On May 13, a court in Moscow sentenced Sergei Pugachev, the former owner of Mezhprombank, to 14 years in prison in absentia for embezzlement of 28.7 billion rubles and abuse of authority. This was reported to Izvestia by the press service of the courts of the capital.

In addition, the court imposed a fine of 800 thousand rubles on him and deprived him of the right to hold managerial positions in credit institutions for three years. He was also charged more than 28 billion rubles in favor of the injured party.

The ex-banker himself has been living in France since 2011, where he obtained citizenship. In 2014, he was put on the international wanted list.

In April 2015, the Moscow Arbitration Court found Pugachev and three other top managers guilty of bringing the bank to bankruptcy. According to investigators, in 2008-2009, an organized group committed the theft of more than 28 billion rubles belonging to Mezhprombank.

In 2015, Pugachev, referring to the French citizenship he received in 2009, initiated international arbitration proceedings against Russia demanding to pay him $ 14.5 billion. According to the ex-banker, his rights as a French investor were violated. However, the court rejected the claim.

On October 24, 2018, a London court ordered Sergei Pugachev to sell his house in the British capital worth £8.9 million (over $11.5 million) to build up the bankruptcy estate of a credit institution.