Former chairman of the board of Rosbank Vladimir Golubkov, accused of commercial bribery, has been released from arrest due to the expiration of the maximum period of detention, the ex-banker's lawyer Dmitry Kharitonov said on Friday.

The defense lawyer said that the indictment was not approved, and Golubkov’s case was returned for additional investigation, RAPSI reports .

Vladimir Golubkov and Senior Vice President of Rosbank Tamara Polyanytsyna were detained on May 15, 2013. The investigation charged Golubkov with commercial bribery, and his subordinate with aiding and abetting. According to investigators, the banker demanded $1.5 million from businessman and composer Andrei Kovalev, who approached him with a request to increase the repayment period and reduce interest on a large loan. The Investigative Committee stated that Golubkov was detained while Polyanynitsyna was giving him 5 million rubles out of the required amount.

Initially, the court placed both defendants under house arrest. In August 2013, the court changed the preventive measure for Golubkov to detention. Tamara Polyanytsyna made a deal with the investigation, admitting guilt and testifying against her boss. Golubkov did not admit his guilt.

In June, Golubkov was dismissed from his position as chairman of the board of Rosbank. He appealed the dismissal in court, and at the end of 2013 entered into a settlement agreement with the bank’s management. Rosbank agreed to pay Golubkov 26.5 million rubles.

The ex-head of Rosbank was released