MOSCOW, November 29 (RIA Novosti) - Police are investigating the alleged theft of 4.5 billion rubles ($145 million) at national development bank Vnesheconombank (VEB), the Russian Interior Ministry's Moscow administration said on Thursday.
VEB granted the Resad company a loan in August 2008, part of which may have been stolen, the ministry said.
The alleged theft was uncovered during a probe into VEB deputy chief Anatoly Ballo, who has already been under investigation in a separate fraud case.
Investigators allege Ballo and unidentified accomplices stole $14 million of a loan granted to the Evraziisky firm to buy a 100 percent stake in a company called Yugvodokanal in 2008.
The money is believed to have been transferred to offshore companies' accounts in Swiss banks.
Ballo was detained but later released on bail of five million rubles ($161,000).
