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Russian Defense Ministry drops its $42.7 million embezzlement lawsuits

The Defense Ministry and the companies affiliated with it called off the lawsuits filed previously in connection with charges against Evgeniya Vasilyeva, the former director of Oboronservis

Evgeniya Vasilyeva Mikhail Pochuyev/TASS

Evgeniya Vasilyeva

© Mikhail Pochuyev/TASS

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MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/. Russian Defense Ministry, Oboronservis and Oboronstroi companies have revoked lawsuits to Evgeniya Vasilyeva and other persons featured in a major embezzlement case where the claims amounted to 2.2 billion rubles (about $42.7 million), spokespeople for the Moscow City Court told TASS on Friday.

The Defense Ministry and the companies affiliated with it called off the lawsuits filed previously in connection with charges against Vasilyeva, the former director of Oboronservis and the main suspect in the case, and other officials involved in the case over misappropriation of shares of a design institute located in downtown Moscow.

Following the revocation of the lawsuits, the Defense Ministry, Oboronservis and Oboronstroi have stopped being complainants in the case. The judges have established in the course of the trial that the shares of the institute have been locked in the ministry's ownership since 2013 and up to date.

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