Russian court extends Yevtushenkov’s house arrest term to Mar 16

MOSCOW, Nov 14 (PRIME) -- Moscow’s Basmanny Court has extended the house arrest term for Vladimir Yevtushenkov, the core owner of Russia’s multi-industry holding Sistema, to March 16, 2015, according to information obtained by PRIME on Friday.

Yevtushenkov was initially put under house arrest on September 16 under a case of illegal privatization of the republic of Bashkortostan’s oil and gas assets, now comprising oil company Bashneft, in 90s. The Prosecutor General’s Office later filed a claim on violations during the privatization demanding Bashneft’s return to the government, and in late October, the Moscow Arbitration Court ruled in favor of nationalization and withdrawal of a 71% stake in Bashneft from Sistema.

The court believes that Yevtushenkov may destroy evidence regarding the case and distort their content, as well as threaten witnesses if the pre-trial restrictions against him are changed, a judge said.

Under the court’s ruling, Yevtushenkov is not allowed to go to work or communicate with anyone, aside from immediate family members, investigators and lawyers, without permission of an investigator, as well as to make or receive phone calls, except for emergency cases and investigators, and to use the Internet.

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