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Court arrests former top manager of Master Bank suspected of money laundering

Moscow's Tverskoi district court sanctioned the arrest of former top manager of Master Bank Yevgeny Rogachyov

MOSCOW, October 12 (Itar-Tass) — Moscow's Tverskoi district court sanctioned the arrest of former top manager of Master Bank Yevgeny Rogachyov, suspected of illegal banking, the Interior Ministry's press service told Itar-Tass on Friday.

"The court changed the measure of restraint for Rogachyov to custody because he had violated house arrest rules," an Interior Ministry official said.

"At present, he is kept at a Moscow pre-trial detention center," he added.

According to the Interior Ministry’s main department for economic security and combating corruption /GUEBiPK/, Rogachyov was a member of the organized group whose participants are suspected in cashing out more than two billion roubles.

Executives of a number of commercial banks and organizations used fly-by-night firms to remit money to the accounts of commercial banks under falsified electronic payment orders. Next, they transferred these funds to the accounts of other organizations and cashed them out. The masterminds behind the scheme charged 3- to 7-percent of the sum of payment as commission.

On March 14, detectives simultaneously carried out 29 searches at suspects' workplaces and at the offices of Master Bank and the Zolostbank, and Strategiya commercial banks. They seized more than 500 stamps, including government bodies' stamps, magnetic media and other items and documents proving illegal activities.

Criminal proceedings were opened under Article 172, part 2 /"illegal banking"/. Two Zolostbank employees have been charged. Police are taking measures to ascertain the identities of other persons involved in the illegal scheme.

Rogachyov fled when the investigation began. Police found him and detained in Sochi. He was convoyed to Moscow. The city's Tagansky court initially selected house arrest as the measure of restraint for him.