Russia sentences former oligarch over $300 million theft
A Moscow court has sentenced Russian former banking magnate Sergey Pugachev to 14 years in a penal colony on charges of embezzlement. Pugachev has been living in France for the past several years and was convicted in absentia.
The Tverskoy Court in the Russian capital issued the verdict on Tuesday, also ordering Pugachev to pay an 800,000 ruble ($9,900) fine.
Pugachev cofounded Mezhprombank in the early 1990s, and later served as a senator for the Republic of Tuva in the national parliament. He renounced his Russian citizenship in 2012 amid accusations of deliberately bankrupting Mezhprombank, and has since been naturalized in France.
In the verdict announced by Judge Aleksey Krivoruchko, Pugachev was found guilty of large-scale embezzlement and abuse of authority. The court ordered the seizure of his assets and upheld a civil claim by the Deposit Insurance Agency, awarding 28.7 billion rubles ($310 million) in damages.
The sentence was handed down in absentia as the French authorities have refused to extradite Pugachev, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office said.
According to investigators, between 2008-2009 Pugachev coordinated the theft of funds from Mezhprombank alongside Aleksandr Didenko, head of the bank's executive board, and Dmitry Amunts, general director of ZAO OPK Development.
Additionally, in 2010, on Pugachev's instructions, acting executive board chair Marina Illarionova allegedly signed agreements canceling collateral linked to earlier loan contracts. Prosecutors said this action deprived the bank of the means to recover loaned funds.
The loans were never repaid, causing losses of at least 64.5 billion rubles ($796 million) according to the Prosecutor General's Office. Authorities said the damage led to the bank's insolvency and its inability to meet obligations to creditors.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
31 minutes ago
- Russia Today
US to cut Ukraine aid
The White House will be slashing military funding for Ukraine as the administration of US President Donald Trump seeks a peaceful resolution to the conflict, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said. The Pentagon chief made the statement before the House Appropriations Committee in Congress on Tuesday. 'It is a reduction in this budget,' Hegseth said when asked about upcoming military aid funding for Ukraine. 'This administration takes a very different view of that conflict,' he added. Trump has worked towards negotiating an end to the Ukraine conflict and has diplomatically re-engaged with Russia. Since he took office in January, Moscow and Kiev have restarted direct talks for the first time since 2022, when Ukraine unilaterally left the first Istanbul negotiations. 'A negotiated peaceful settlement is in the best interest of both parties and our nation's interests especially with all the competing interests around the globe,' Hegseth said. The Trump administration has also touted an 'America First' pivot and significantly cut foreign assistance, including aid to Ukraine, promising to channel funds towards domestic issues. Last week, US Vice President J.D. Vance echoed Trump's criticism of his predecessor Joe Biden, accusing his administration of spending 'crazy' amounts of money on supporting Kiev. 'They sent $300 billion to Ukraine,' without 'trying to force a diplomatic settlement,' he said. In April, Trump signed a major deal with Kiev allowing the US priority access to Ukraine's mineral wealth, in what he described would be a way for Washington to 'get back' the hundreds of billions it spent on Ukraine under Biden. Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky has often complained of a constant shortage of US-supplied air defenses, and waning assistance from Washington in recent months. Additionally, the Trump administration rerouted some 20,000 anti-drone missiles – initially earmarked for Kiev under Biden – to the Middle East, the Ukrainian leader claimed on Sunday.
Russia Today
an hour ago
- Russia Today
EU wants to prolong Ukraine conflict
The European Commission's latest sanctions package, which targets the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), among other entities, is driven by the bloc's desire to prolong the Ukraine conflict, according to Kirill Dmitriev, the RDIF's CEO and a presidential investment envoy. The 18th sanctions package, unveiled by EC President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday, targets Russia's energy exports, infrastructure, and financial sector. It includes measures against the RDIF, its subsidiaries, and investment projects in an effort to stop it from funding initiatives to 'modernize the Russian economy.' By going after RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund, the EC acknowledges it is 'an important channel' for strengthening Russia's industrial base, Dmitriev said in a statement. Von der Leyen's remarks were 'driven by the EU's desire to prolong the Ukraine conflict and its deep dissatisfaction with RDIF's efforts to restore Russia-US relations,' as well as the fund's role in Moscow's peace initiatives, he added. Dmitriev has played a prominent role in efforts to improve relations between Moscow and Washington, which reached its lowest point in decades under the administration of Joe Biden. The official took part in high-level meetings in Saudi Arabia and visited Washington in April for talks on potential joint investment projects in rare earths and energy. The EU's proposal also signals opposition to cooperation between Russian and European businesses, which the RDIF 'actively supports in Russia,' according to Dmitriev. In a post on X on Tuesday, Dmitriev noted that Russia has 'a number of joint investments with the leading EU companies' and said that the fund has 'helped significantly' many European firms that continue to operate in the country. The new sanctions package also proposes a ban on the use of Nord Stream gas infrastructure, a reduction in the oil price cap, and a halt to imports of all refined products derived from Russian crude. The draft will now be debated by EU member states and must be approved unanimously to take effect. Previous rounds have faced pushback from countries such as Hungary and Slovakia, which argue the sanctions hurt the EU more than Russia. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico wrote on Facebook on Tuesday that Bratislava won't back the package unless the EU offers 'a real solution to the crisis' that his country would face from a halt in Russian energy supplies. Russia has rejected the Western sanctions as illegitimate and counterproductive. President Vladimir Putin has said the removal of sanctions is among the conditions for a settlement of the Ukraine conflict.
Russia Today
3 hours ago
- Russia Today
Musk's father comments on son's spat with Trump (VIDEO)
Errol Musk has weighed in on the public feud between his son, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and US President Donald Trump, telling reporters in Moscow that the two may yet find common ground. The dispute between Musk and Trump – once close allies – escalated last week over the president's so-called 'Big Beautiful' tax and spending bill. Musk, who recently stepped down as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), had repeatedly criticized the bill, arguing it undermines his efforts to trim the fat off the federal budget. On Thursday, he accused Trump of 'ingratitude,' backed calls for his impeachment, and threatened to halt the US space program by grounding the Dragon spacecraft. Trump fired back, saying Musk had 'gone crazy' and blaming the spat on the end of what he called the 'EV mandate' – a reference to federal incentives that had benefited Tesla. Musk responded with a now-deleted post linking Trump to deceased financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Speaking to journalists in Moscow on Monday, where he was attending a tech forum, Errol Musk suggested that his son's strong response was rooted in principle, but added there may be room for compromise. 'I think Elon might agree to step down a little … because he's basically standing up for his principles,' the elder Musk said. Errol Musk said his son had backed the Trump administration, believing it would cut government spending, not increase it, and that the shift in direction left him frustrated, as it went against the values he had agreed to support. The 79-year-old pointed out that government policy often requires compromise and long-term thinking. 'In politics, sometimes you have to spend money on products you have yet to make, because that money later helps increase production. It's the laws of economics,' Errol Musk explained. He added that both men may now be taking a more mature view of the situation – and hinted that a thaw in relations could be possible.
