New trial of Alexei Kurtzin

The prosecutor has asked the court to sentence Alexei Kurtsin, former acting chief operations officer of Yukos-Moscow LLC, to 16 years imprisonment for misappropriation and legalisation of 74 million roubles.

“When the two sides addressed the court the State prosecutor asked that the accused Kurtzin be sentenced to 16 years imprisonment in a special regime penal colony,” head of the Moscow City Court press service Anna Usachova told Interfax. “In addition, the prosecutor asked that the accused be fined 500,000 roubles.”

The prosecution further requested that the accused Boris Teremenko and Alexander Goldman each be sentenced to 11 years imprisonment and a 1 million rouble fine. The prosecutor asked that the accused Maria Tikhopa be sentenced to 10.5 years imprisonment in an ordinary regime penal colony. “At the present moment both sides continue to present their cases,” said Usachova.

The criminal case against Kurtzin is being heard at the Tagansky district court in Moscow. Apart from Kurtzin, others accused in the same case are B. Teremenko, president of Amalgam DVD Group (Moscow), and also A. Goldman and M. Tikhopa, who are accused with misappropriating and legalising funds.

The investigation believes that between April and June 2004 Alexei Kurtzin, together with vice president of Yukos-Moskva Mikhail Trushin, the economist of the Amalgam DVD group Yelena Vybornova, and also B. Teremenko, A. Goldman and M. Tikhopa stole 74 million roubles from Yukos.

The Prosecutor General's office considers that the accused first transferred the money disguised as charitable donations to the accounts of non-governmental organisations and foundations and then legalised the funds through various fictitious financial operations and transactions.

International warrants have been issued for the arrest of Trushin and Vybornova, reports the Prosecutor General's office.

Alexei Kurtsin is already serving a 14 year sentence for money laundering, imposed by the Lefortovo district court in Moscow. The sentence came into force on 1 December 2005.

(Interfax, 26.11.2008)