The preliminary investigation into the case of the ex-owner of the Ugra bank Khotin has ended.

The preliminary investigation into the case of especially large-scale fraud and membership in a criminal community against the former owner of Ugra Bank, Alexei Khotin, who was sentenced to nine years for embezzlement of more than 23 billion rubles, has been completed. This was reported to Izvestia on October 6 by a source familiar with the situation.

The essence of the charges is not specified, Khotin does not admit his guilt. Earlier, the Moscow City Court kept him in jail until December 9. Khotin is charged under art. 159, part 4 ("Fraud on an especially large scale").

According to the investigation, in 2014-2017, Khotin and his accomplices stole over 23 billion rubles, issuing deliberately non-repayable loans to three companies. The ex-owner of Yugra appointed members of his organized criminal group to senior positions in this bank in 2014. None of the defendants in the case pleaded guilty.

The Zamoskvoretsky court in March last year sentenced Khotin to nine years in a penal colony in a case of embezzlement. In addition, the former president of Ugra, Alexei Nefedov, then received 8.5 years in a general regime penal colony, ex-chairman of the board Dmitry Shilyaev — eight years, ex-director of the Moscow branch Nina Chernova — six years.