A Moscow district court dismissed on Thursday a criminal case against terminally ill former Yukos vice president Vasily Aleksanyan, accused of money-laundering.
"After examining the case files, the court finds that the defense motion to dismiss the criminal case can be fulfilled due to an expiration of statute limitations," Judge Olga Nedelina said.
Aleksanyan, 36, is charged with money-laundering, tax evasion and embezzlement. According to the prosecution, he embezzled property and shares from the oil companies Tomskneft and VNK.
Aleksanyan was diagnosed with AIDS a few months after his detention in April 2006 and was released from custody in December after posting bail of 50 million rubles ($1.8 million). The bail was returned to Aleksanyan after the court announced its decision to dismiss the case.
Legal proceedings launched against the now defunct oil company Yukos in 2003, seen by many as politically motivated, resulted in the conviction of many executives and shareholders, including founder and CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Aleksanyan's lawyer said there are no grounds to expect the court to soften its position on other cases related to Yukos.
MOSCOW, June 24 (RIA Novosti)
