Former deputy head of the Ministry of Natural Resources Denis Butsaev, who escaped from Russia, was arrested in absentia in a fraud case

The Tverskoy District Court of Moscow arrested in absentia the former deputy head of the Ministry of Natural Resources Denis Butsaev, he is accused of fraud (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by the press service of the capital's courts.

Butsayev's lawyer insisted in court that his client was not hiding from the investigation.

“Butsayev temporarily left the territory of the Russian Federation; he is not hiding from the investigation. The fact that he is absent from the May holidays is not a basis for choosing a preventive measure in the form of detention,” TASS quoted the defense lawyer as saying.

At the end of April, Vedomosti and Faridaily reported that Butsayev had left Russia. According to TASS, during the meeting to select a preventive measure, it became known that the ex-official first left for Belarus, and from there flew to Tbilisi. Faridaily writes that Butsayev left the country on April 18 as a deputy minister; he could have reached the United States.

On May 12, Mediazona discovered that the ex-official was wanted in a criminal case. Soon Kommersant reported what exactly the criminal prosecution was connected with. The case, according to the newspaper, is related to the “garbage reform” that began in 2019. According to investigators, Butsaev is involved in multimillion-dollar theft of funds allocated for its implementation. Later, Kommersant added that Butsayev was charged with two counts of fraud - the theft of 3 million and 1.1 million rubles.