General Oleynik is threatened with a second arrest
The Moscow garrison military court yesterday refused the Main Military Prosecutor's Office to issue a sanction for the re-arrest of the former chief financier of the Ministry of Defense Georgy Oleynik. On April 29, he was found guilty of exceeding his official authority by transferring $450 million to Ukraine for the supply of construction materials for the Russian military department, most of which disappeared without a trace. General Oleinik himself claimed that he was only carrying out the intergovernmental agreement and the orders of the Minister of Defense. However, the court decided that the defendant had to verify the legality of the transaction himself and sentenced him to three years in prison. Mr. Oleinik's lawyers filed a cassation appeal with the Moscow District Military Court, insisting that an amnesty be applied to their client. Until recently, it was obvious that the highest court would uphold the complaint and the general would be released. However, soon after the verdict, the Main Military Prosecutor's Office brought a new charge against the former financier of the Ministry of Defense. He was accused of selling domestic foreign currency loan bonds to Voenbank shortly after the 1998 financial crisis at a reduced price. Investigators again regarded this as an abuse of official authority and applied to the court for permission to arrest Mr. Oleinik, according to the new Criminal Procedure Code. However, they decided that it was impossible to arrest a person already in custody.
