A Moscow court on Thursday ordered billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov to remain under house arrest, throwing out his appeal as he is investigated in a money-laundering probe.
"The ruling of the Basmanny court of Moscow that Yevtushenkov be held under house arrest is to be left without change," a Moscow city court spokeswoman, Ulyana Solopova, told AFP.
Yevtushenkov's lawyers had offered 300 million ruble ($7.7 million) bail in exchange for his release after a Moscow district court ruled last week he must stay under house arrest until November 16.
Yevtushenkov, Russia's 15th richest man at the helm of the Sistema conglomerate, was confined to his mansion in an exclusive suburb of Moscow, and forced to wear a security bracelet.
The court also denied a request that he be allowed to go to work, its spokeswoman said.
"Moscow city court kept the wording that 'Yevtushenkov can leave his home with an investigator's permission' but this does not mean regular trips to work," Solopova said.
Yevtushenkov is not allowed to use the phone or the Internet or to communicate with anyone except family members, lawyers and investigators, Solopova added.
Russia's powerful Investigative Committee announced last week that it was probing the 65-year-old, whose personal fortune Forbes magazine estimates at $9 billion (7 billion euros).
The investigation centres on a deal in which Sistema -- a huge group with interests in Russia's biggest mobile operator MTS and a range of other assets -- bought oil company Bashneft.
Investigators accuse Sistema of buying Bashneft at an artificially low price.
Yevtushenkov has denied the accusations. His lawyer Vladimir Kozin on Thursday denounced the accusations as "absurd" and ruled out the possibility of a plea bargain, according to RIA Novosti.
Yevtushenkov's high-profile detention stunned economists who called it a fresh blow to an economy battered by Western sanctions, capital flight and a looming recession.
The case also won comparisons with that of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was once Russia's richest man but spent a decade in jail and saw his Yukos firm dismantled after he opposed President Vladimir Putin.
Last week an incorrect report that Yevtushenkov had been unexpectedly freed from house arrest created a flurry of speculation and caused shares in Sistema and its affiliates to briefly leap in value.
A Moscow court on Thursday ordered billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov to remain under house arrest, throwing out his appeal as he is investigated in a money-laundering probe.
“The ruling of the Basmanny court of Moscow that Yevtushenkov be held under house arrest is to be left without change,” a Moscow city court spokeswoman, Ulyana Solopova, told AFP.
Yevtushenkov’s lawyers had offered 300 million ruble ($7.7 million) bail in exchange for his release after a Moscow district court ruled last week he must stay under house arrest until November 16.
Yevtushenkov, Russia’s 15th richest man at the helm of the Sistema conglomerate, was confined to his mansion in an exclusive suburb of Moscow, and forced to wear a security bracelet.
The court also denied a request that he be allowed to go to work, its spokeswoman said.
“Moscow city court kept the wording that ‘Yevtushenkov can leave his home with an investigator’s permission’ but this does not mean regular trips to work,” Solopova said.
Yevtushenkov is not allowed to use the phone or the Internet or to communicate with anyone except family members, lawyers and investigators, Solopova added.
Russia’s powerful Investigative Committee announced last week that it was probing the 65-year-old, whose personal fortune Forbes magazine estimates at $9 billion (7 billion euros).
The investigation centres on a deal in which Sistema — a huge group with interests in Russia’s biggest mobile operator MTS and a range of other assets — bought oil company Bashneft.
Investigators accuse Sistema of buying Bashneft at an artificially low price.
Yevtushenkov has denied the accusations. His lawyer Vladimir Kozin on Thursday denounced the accusations as “absurd” and ruled out the possibility of a plea bargain, according to RIA Novosti.
Yevtushenkov’s high-profile detention stunned economists who called it a fresh blow to an economy battered by Western sanctions, capital flight and a looming recession.
The case also won comparisons with that of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was once Russia’s richest man but spent a decade in jail and saw his Yukos firm dismantled after he opposed President Vladimir Putin.
Last week an incorrect report that Yevtushenkov had been unexpectedly freed from house arrest created a flurry of speculation and caused shares in Sistema and its affiliates to briefly leap in value.
