MOSCOW (AP) – A Russian court on Wednesday approved the arrest of an ex-banker and Moscow Arbitration Court secretary who is suspected of counterfeiting and illegal banking activities amounting to $2.4 billion, officials said.
Boris Sokalsky, the former head of the bank OOO New Economic Position, is suspected of illegal banking activities, counterfeiting and selling money or securities, as well as abuse of office, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. He was arrested on Tuesday.
“Police investigators determined that Sokalsky organized a criminal group comprising his employees and acquaintances to conduct illegal banking activities,” it said.
While Russian police’s economic crimes department regularly conduct money laundering and fraud investigations, Sokalsky’s case stands out for its sheer size.
Russia’s banking sector has long been regarded as one of the more criminalized sectors of the economy. Last September, Andrei Kozlov, a top Central Bank official in charge of cleaning up the banking industry, was gunned down as he left a soccer game in Moscow. A banker whose financial institution had been shut down by Central Bank regulators has been charged with organizing Kozlov’s murder.
