"The court resolved to hold closed hearings on a criminal case against Antonio Valdes Garcia, the former director of Yukos trading company Fargoil; Vladimir Malakhovsky, former director general of Ratibor LLC; and Vladimir Pereverzin, former Yukos deputy director for external debt," a Basmanny court official said.
Pereverzin is charged with money laundering and embezzlement of 248 billion rubles ($9.05 billion), and Malakhovsky with embezzlement totaling 7.5 billion rubles ($273.82 million). Valdes Garcia is suspected in involvement in a money-laundering scheme.
Investigators say the ex-Yukos officials masterminded a scheme to sell crude oil through companies under their control, acting both as fictitious owners and buyers. Prosecutors claim that the defendants embezzled a total of $13 billion.
Both Pereverzin and Malakhovsky were arrested in December 2004 and are currently held in prison. Valdes Garcia, who holds dual Spanish-Russian citizenship, was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport upon arriving in Russia on June 10, 2005, and is prohibited from leaving the country.
