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Defendant in Oboronservis case Zakutailo charged with massive fraud

He did not conclude “a deal with the investigation"
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, November 9 (Itar-Tass) — Defendant in the Oboronservis criminal case Maxim Zakutailo charged with a massive fraud, his lawyer Oleg Bessonov told Itar-Tass on Friday.

“Yesterday the accusation was brought against him, we did not recognize it,” the lawyer said, noting that the accusation was brought on two episodes.

Meanwhile, Bessonov noted that Zakutailo did not conclude “a deal with the investigation.”

The lawyer and his client are studying the indictment, which, according to the lawyer, “is quite sizable.”

For his part, the Centre of Legal Support Expert that represents the interests of another defendant in the criminal case that is Zakutailo’s wife Yekaterina Smetanova refrains from any comments on the progress of the investigation. The accusation was also be brought against her on Thursday.

“I do not give any comments on this criminal case,” lawyer Alexander Makarov said.

Under the Oboronservis military property misappropriation case the Khamovnichesky District Court of Moscow sanctioned the arrest of former head of the commercial organization Centre of Legal Support Expert Yekaterina Smetanova and her husband – former general director of the arms depot in the Moscow district of the Russian Air Force and businessman Maxim Zakutailo until December 10. Smetanova appealed the arrest.

The main military investigation department of the Russian Investigation Committee opened five criminal cases over fraud in the sale of real estate, land plots and shares, which Oboronservis subordinate to the Defence Ministry owned. These criminal episodes are being investigated under articles for fraud and abuse of power and are combined in one criminal case.

The detectives found that officials from the Russian Defence Ministry picked up as the targets of their criminal intentions the most liquid and prestigious sites, land plots and shares, particularly in Moscow, from the Oboronservis property. Then, as a rule enormous budget funds were invested in this real estate and after that the property was sold at substantially understated prices to the commercial structures affiliated with the Oboronservis company, the Russian Investigation Committee said before. Meanwhile, many sites were bought from the funds, which were stolen from Oboronservis.

According to preliminary reports, the damages from the sale of only eight real estate entities exceeded three billion roubles.

The Investigation Committee noted that new defendants in this criminal case are not ruled out. “Some figurants in the criminal case will most likely change their procedural status of witnesses to suspects soon. Moreover, the list of the real estate sites of the Defence Ministry was made public before. According to the detectives, the real estate was sold by the affiliated structures on fraudulent schemes and this list will be most likely expanded,” the Investigation Committee said.