The court recovered more than 32 billion rubles from former minister Abyzov

The Gagarinsky Court of Moscow satisfied the claim of the Prosecutor General's Office, recovering 32.5 billion rubles from the former Minister for "Open Government" Mikhail Abyzov. According to prosecutors, he received these funds while he was a minister, violating anti-corruption laws.

The money was collected personally from the accounts of Abyzov and from five foreign legal entities, the press service of the court told Interfax. The amount of 32.5 billion rubles was a record for Russia in similar claims.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office, Abyzov hid information about his real property status when he entered the civil service. In particular, he did not talk about the five Cypriot offshore companies he owns. In addition, Abyzov, according to prosecutors, while being a minister, continued to secretly engage in entrepreneurial activities, registering companies controlled by him as nominees and organizing shadow offices in ordinary apartments.

In 2018, Abyzov, as the Prosecutor General's Office established, using the status of a minister, took part in the sale of Sibeko shares. As a result of the transaction, 32.5 billion rubles were transferred to the accounts of foreign legal entities controlled by him. These funds, according to supervisory authorities, are illegal income and were obtained in circumvention of anti-corruption laws.

Abyzov did not recognize the claims and asked the court to refuse to satisfy them.

The ex-minister was detained in March 2019, he is accused of organizing a criminal community, fraud, illegal business activities, and commercial bribery. Together with him, 15 more people are involved in the case, four of whom are on the wanted list.