MOSCOW, August 22 (RIA Novosti) - A Moscow court returned Wednesday a case against a former nuclear power minister to prosecutors to eliminate shortcomings in the investigation.
Yevgeny Adamov, 67, is charged with embezzlement and abuse of office. Prosecutors said the former minister, who served from 1998 to 2001, was the leader of an organized criminal group that inflicted damage worth over 3 billion rubles (about $110 million) on the Russian budget, enterprises and organizations.
A spokesman for the prosecution said an appeal would be lodged against the ruling as early as Wednesday.
"It is not the first time we have encountered such things," Viktor Antipov said. "I consider that the ruling runs counter to the law."
Adamov said prosecutors would unlikely be able to eliminate the shortcomings.
"Changing the word order of the indictment will not improve it," Adamov said. "The reputation of the country as a whole has been hurt by this case."
Adamov's lawyer, Genri Reznik, said prosecutors had failed to specify charges in the indictment.
"The point is that a lack of concrete charges infringes the rights of the defense," he said. "The charges are so generalized that they make mounting a defense impossible."
He said prosecutors would unlikely be able to change the indictment in five days but the case could not be dismissed if they failed to meet the deadline.
"Exceeding a procedural deadline is not a legal reason to dismiss the case," he said
Adamov was originally arrested in Switzerland last May on the request of the United States, where authorities suspected him of misappropriating $9 million given to Russia for nuclear safety projects, but was extradited to his homeland in early 2006 to face charges. He could have faced 60 years in prison if convicted in the U.S.
Adamov was released from custody July 21 to await trial.
