Kivelidi, board chairman of private Rosbiznesbank, died in August 1995 of what forensic experts said was exposure to a powerful toxic substance smeared on a telephone receiver in his office. His secretary died a few days later, presumably from the same substance.
"Under law, a suspect's custody term is extended for six months, when a case is passed over for court trial," the suspect's lawyer, Oksana Voznyak, said. "The court therefore ruled [Vladimir] Khutsishvili should stay in jail for another half year."
The court was to launch preliminary hearings on the case Thursday, but postponed them until April 11 after the defense team requested more time to study the case files.
Khutsishvili, the murdered banker's deputy, was arrested in Moscow in June 2005 after eleven years on the run.