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Prosecutors to appeal not guilty verdict for former investigator

A panel of jurors unanimously cleared Grivtsov of the charges of attempted extortion and abetting a bribe

MOSCOW, October 24 (Itar-Tass) — Prosecutor for the state Irina Shlyayeva said she would appeal against the not guilty verdict for investigator for special cases Andrei Grivtsov and another two defendants in a 15-million-dollar extortion case.

"The verdict will certainly be appealed against" Shlyayeva told reporters on Wednesday.

On October 19, a panel of jurors unanimously cleared Grivtsov of the charges of attempted extortion and abetting a bribe. The jury said the fact of crime had not been proven.

Another two defendants – former police officer Sergei Khatsernov and Sergei Kirimov – have been acquitted, too.

The criminal case was opened in January 2010. Investigator Grivtsov, who was handling a hostile takeover case involving a Moscow-based company, demanded 15 million dollars through lawyer Ruslan Parkin from head of the Rosenregomash company director Vladimir Palikhata and lawyer Mikhail Vytnov, threatening to arraign them.

According to the investigators, Sergei Kirimov, who enjoyed Palikhata and Vytnov's trust, acted as intermediary, while head of the city department for combating extremism Sergei Khatsernov abetted the deal.

On January 14, 2010, reports said Kerimov was detained as he was retrieving eight million dollars from a bank cell, the first part of the bribe. The investigator was detained, too.

Ruslan Parkin is still at large.

According to the verdict, the hard evidence – two bags, dummy banknotes and a notebook – will be kept by preliminary investigation bodies because there is another criminal case investigated separately.

Also, the judge noted in the verdict that the persons who the investigators said had extorted money would be under state protection.