Aeroflot lawyers go on trial in ₽250.6mn embezzlement case

A criminal case involving lawyers charged with attempting to embezzle at least RUB250.6 million rubles (USD3.36 million) from Aeroflot (SU, Moscow Sheremetyevo) has come to trial at Moscow’s Gagarinsky District Court, the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI) has reported citing court documents. Vladimir Alexandrov, a former deputy general director at Aeroflot for legal and property issues; Tatiana Davydova, also a former director of the legal department; and external lawyers Alexander Slivko and Dina Kibets will appear before the court.They are charged under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which details fraud on an especially large scale, committed as part of an organised group and using an official position.The lawyers were arrested in October 2019. According to the prosecution, while Alexandrov and Davydova received their remuneration, they allegedly signed forged contracts on the provision of legal services with Kibets and Slivko between 2015 and 2018, contracting the work out to them at an inflated rate. Yet the services continued to be dealt with by employees in the airline’s legal department. All of the defendants remain in detention. During the investigation, the courts seized expensive cars, real estate, and cash belonging to the accused, according to the Russian-language site Legal Report. The defendants have pleaded not guilty. Aeroflot was not immediately available for comment.