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Just under 1,000 VIM Avia passengers still stuck in Turkey

VIM Airlines announced on September 25 that it was stopping all charter flight operations due to financial problems and shortage of the working capital

© Marina Lystseva/TASS

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Investigators charge VIM Airlines CEO with fraud

MOSCOW, October 1. /TASS/. Less than 1,000 passengers from VIM Airlines’ delayed flights are projected to still be stuck in Turkey as of Monday morning, Russian Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov said on Sunday.

"The procedure for transporting all tourists and passengers has been agreed on. So, by tomorrow morning, Monday, October 2, the number of tourists whose flights have been delayed will be less than 1,000," he said at a meeting of an ad hoc commission tasked with addressing the dilemma faced by VIM Airlines’ passengers.

VIM Airlines, Russia’s tenth largest carrier also known as VIM-Avia, announced on September 25 that it was stopping all charter flight operations due to financial problems and a shortage of working capital. The announcement was preceded by a series of flight delays in Russian and foreign airports. According to Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, VIMA-Avia’s total debt stands at 7 billion rubles (121 million US dollars). A criminal case has been filed on charges of fraud. As a result, VIM Airlines CEO and chief accountant were placed under house arrest.

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