MOSCOW, June 4 (RIA Novosti) - The Moscow City Court has upheld a custody extension until August 31 for the former head of a Yukos subsidiary, charged with embezzlement and money laundering, a lawyer for the accused said Monday.
Viktor Danilchenko said the court turned down an appeal from the defense and granted an extension in Sergei Shemkevich's custody, the former general director of Tomskneft, the largest subsidiary of now bankrupt Yukos oil company. He is accused of misappropriating 5.93 billion rubles ($229 million) and laundering the illegal receipts.
Shimkevich's arrest was sanctioned by the Basmanny Court of Moscow on January 18 this year following a request from the Russian Prosecutor General's Office.
Shimkevich was detained January 16 in Siberia's Tomsk Region while serving as a deputy in the regional legislature. He was deprived of his mandate following the sanction for his arrest.
