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Prosecutor says Yevgenia Vasilyeva misled former defense minister Serdyukov

Prosecution has said earlier today that it considers Vasilyeva proven guilty of embezzling around $58 million

Yevgenia Vasilyeva Sergei Fadeichev/TASS

Yevgenia Vasilyeva

© Sergei Fadeichev/TASS

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MOSCOW, April 23. /TASS/. A prosecutor has told Moscow’s Presnensky Court session that Yevgenia Vasilyeva, former head of Department of Property Relations at Russia’s Defense Ministry, provided misleading information to former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov on the land plot in the Krasnodar Region, a TASS correspondent reported from the scene on Thursday.

"Vasilyeva misled Serdyukov on the legality of using the land plot in the Temryuksky district in the Krasnodar Region," the prosecutor said.

The land plot sold on Serdyukov’s instruction did not belong to the Defense Ministry, prosecutors said.

Prosecution has said earlier today that it considers Vasilyeva proven guilty of embezzling 3 billion rubles (around $58 million). "As a result of court hearings, prosecution has come to a conclusion that Vasilyeva and other suspects in the case are guilty on all counts," prosecutor Yury Khalizov said.

Vasilyeva has been under home arrest since November 23, 2012.

The large-scale embezzlement case at the Russian defense ministry is one of the most high-profile corruption cases in modern Russia involving former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who lost his post over it.

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