ITAR-TASS / IDR

The property of the former Moscow Region Finance Minister Alexey Kuznetsov, who was detained in France, has been seized. As the Investigative Committee specifies, eight land plots in the Moscow Region, two apartments in Moscow and two cars have been seized for the purpose of possible confiscation.

Kuznetsov's arrest became known on Saturday. He had been wanted internationally through Interpol since November last year. The Prosecutor General's Office will soon send a request for Kuznetsov's extradition to the competent authorities in France. Kuznetsov is a suspect in a case of fraud, embezzlement and money laundering during his tenure as the ministry's director. He is suspected of organizing the theft of 3.5 billion rubles from the Moscow Region budget through the Moscow Region Investment Trust Company (MOITC). Investigators believe that the crime was committed by a group that included other Moscow Region officials, in particular Deputy Finance Minister Vladimir Nosov and former MOITC CEO Vladislav Telepnev.

As Kuznetsov himself explained in an interview with Vedomosti back in 2009, he left Russia voluntarily and did not intend to return, as he was afraid that "they would charge him with something." "I do not feel capable of defending myself in Russia. I have neither the means nor the support to defend any, even the smallest accusation against me," Kuznetsov said at the time.

As the Investigative Committee reminds us, the decision to hold Kuznetsov liable under the articles "Fraud committed by an organized group on an especially large scale" and "Legalization of property acquired by a person as a result of committing a crime" was issued back in June 2010; in October of the same year, he was first put on the regular wanted list, and after he crossed the border, on the international wanted list. If Kuznetsov is brought to Russian territory, he will be charged.

The investigation of the criminal case against the other members of the group - Elena Kuznetsova, Valery Nosov and Vyacheslav Telepnev - has been completed, and they are currently reviewing the materials of the criminal case, the Investigative Committee clarifies.

According to lawyer Alexei Navalny, there was no information about Kuznetsov in the Interpol database until January of this year. In his blog on Saturday, he recalled that in January he sent an appeal to the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Alexander Bastrykin and the Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsev asking them to explain why there was no information about Kuznetsov on the Interpol website at the time of writing the statement.

Navalny pointed out that information about Kuznetsov's whereabouts was reported in the Kommersant newspaper in January 2009. The article reported that Kuznetsov and his wife Zhanna Bullock spent the New Year holidays in Courchevel: "Another surprising phenomenon was the husband of one of the Courchevel latifundists, the president of RIGroup, Zhanna Bullock - former Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region Alexei Kuznetsov. He is currently wanted. But his wife, they say, this year, despite everything, bought another Courchevel hotel - "Prolong". In a fur coat down to his heels, Mr. Kuznetsov was seen in the Hermes store choosing purchases" (quoted from the Kommersant website).

Kuznetsov lived practically openly in France, Navalny noted; in particular, he was seen in Courchevel in the company of high-ranking Russian officials.

Property of fugitive Moscow Region Finance Minister Kuznetsov arrested