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Russian authorities open criminal case against head of Rolf car dealer

The criminal case has been initiated for withdrawal of $63.4 mln abroad

Sergey Petrov Vladimir Astapkovich/TASS

Sergey Petrov

© Vladimir Astapkovich/TASS

MOSCOW, June 27. /TASS/. Russia’s Investigative Committee has initiated a criminal case against head of the Rolf car dealer Sergey Petrov and several managers of the company for withdrawal of 4 bln rubles ($63.4 mln) abroad, the committee’s spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko told TASS.

"The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has initiated a criminal case against owner and of head of the Rolf group of companies Sergey Petrov and number of its top managers under part 3 article 193.1 of Russia’s Criminal Code for currency transactions involving the transfer of a large amount of funds to a bank account of a non-resident and provision of knowingly forged documents to a credit institution," she said.

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Petrenko noted that Petrov also heads the Rolf Estate company and a Cyprus-based company Panabel Limited. According to her, in 2014, under the pretext of buying shares of Rolf Estate at a price, which was 4 bln rubles higher than the real one, the partners entered into a forged sale and purchase agreement with Panabel Limited.

Under a fictitious agreement, the accomplices, transferred 4 billion rubles through a Moscow bank controlled by Petrov, from the account of the Rolf company to the account of the Cypriot company in an Austrian bank.

"Subsequently, Petrov received these funds through foreign agencies he controlled," the representative of the Investigative Committee added.

The punishment imposed for this crime is up to 10 years in prison with a fine of 1 million rubles.

As part of the criminal case, the investigators of the Investigation Committee and the FSB officer are conducting at the Rolf offices in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as among the defendants. They are studying the company’s documentation and interrogating the car dealer’s staff.

Earlier, the press service of the Rolf company reported that the searches are not related to the operating activities of the company. The press service also noted that all dealerships continue to work, although the actions of law enforcement agencies are hampering the company's operating activities.

The Rolf Group is one of the largest importers and retailers of passenger cars. The company was founded in August 1991.

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