Bank of Moscow's former president Andrei Borodin and former vice-president Dmitry Akulinin have been charged with the illegal appropriation of property, investigators said on Thursday.
"Investigation authorities consider there is enough proof to charge them with the illegal appropriation of property via the abuse of office," an Investigation Commitee spokesperson told RIA Novosti.
Borodin's lawyer Mikhail Dolomanov said the new charges were illegal and they would be beaten in court.
In February, Bank of Moscow, the capital's investment vehicle under previous Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, was taken over by state-run lender VTB after President Dmitry Medvedev had fired Luzhkov over a lack of trust.
Bank of Moscow's ex-president and close ally of Luzhkov Andrei Borodin, who together with Akulinin held 20.3 percent in the lender, strongly opposed the acquisition of his bank by VTB, but in spring he finally gave up and sold his stake to businessman Vitaly Yusufov. Yufusov sold the stake to VTB on Thursday.
A recent check of Bank of Moscow revealed a significant hole in its assets and it has received a bailout of 400 billion rubles, a record sum for the Russian banking system. Borodin has fled Russia, is wanted on an international arrest warrant and denies any wrongdoing.
Investigators brought charges case against Borodin and Akulinin, accusing them of stealing 12.76 billion rubles ($400.4 million) from Moscow's city budget at the end of 2010.
Borodin is also suspected of an illegal sale of shares to Estonian lender Eesti Krediidipank, causing a 12 million euro loss to the bank, while Akulinin is also accused of providing $63 million worth of loans to two Cypriot companies illegally in 2008-2009.
