The Basmanny Court of Moscow arrested in absentia co-owner of VIM-Avia airline Rashid Mursekaev. A RIA Novosti correspondent reports this from the court.

Earlier, on December 12, the Investigative Committee of Russia (IC) announced that it would petition for the arrest of Mursekaev in absentia. A criminal case has been opened against him; the co-owner of VIM-Avia is suspected of abuse of power, the press service of the Investigative Committee reported. In addition, cases have been brought against the former general director of the air carrier Alexander Kochnev, ex-financial director Alevtina Kalashnikova and ex-chief accountant Ekaterina Panteleeva. This criminal case was combined into one proceeding with the previous one - under the article “Theft”.

In 2015–2017 VIM-avia purchased aviation fuel from companies controlled by Mursekaev at an inflated price, the investigation suggests. In fact, the airline, at the direction of Mursekaev, was financed according to a fraudulent pyramid scheme: managers hid losses by indicating deliberately false information about profits in the reporting, which made it possible to obtain loans from banks, and also did not lead to restrictions on the airline’s activities on the part of the Federal Air Transport Agency, the Investigative Committee reported.

Mursekaev owns 1% of VIM-Avia, the remaining 99% is registered in his wife’s name. This airline ranked tenth in Russia in terms of passenger traffic.

The court arrested the co-owner of VIM-Avia in absentia