Former vice-president of the Moscow Industrial Bank (Minbank) Adam Arsamakov was arrested in absentia.
The son of Abubakar Arsamakov, the previous leader of a major financial organization in Russia, which is currently being restructured by the Central Bank, is accused of very large embezzlement. Previously, the arbitration found the Arsamakovs and 16 other individuals who controlled the credit institution guilty of causing losses to the bank and recovered almost 200 billion rubles from them.
As per Kommersant, the Investigative Committee of Russia (Investigative Committee of Russia) initiated the first criminal case on fraud in the Ministry of Bank in 2019. It relates to the payment of salaries to numerous relatives of the former top managers of this credit institution, who were actually only formally listed there.
In grasping this story, which has not yet concluded, the TFR discovered a much larger-scale embezzlement of the funds of the Ministry of Bank.
Consequently, another criminal case was launched for embezzlement (part 4 of article 160 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), in which 36-year-old Adam Arsamakov, the son of the former president of this credit institution, Abubakar Arsamakov, became a defendant.
It is important to note that almost the entire top management of the Ministry of Bank lost their positions at the beginning of 2019, when the financial institution came under recovery by the Central Bank. The regulator concluded that the inefficient and dishonest management of the bank almost led it to bankruptcy. Furthermore, numerous violations and abuses were identified, which became the subject of an investigation by the TFR.
Specifically, as per Kommersant, the materials of the criminal case concern the issuance of loans to questionable organizations totaling more than 100 billion rubles.
At the same time, out of 104 borrowers, 51 cease to pay back what they owe right after the temporary administration took over the Ministry of Bank. According to the investigation, the debtor firms were likely under the control of the top management of the Ministry of Bank. In any case, the credit committee readily approved money to entities that did not engage in any financial and economic activities, categorizing them as reliable borrowers. There are currently more than two dozen such organizations in business.
According to Kommersant, initially the investigation had inquiries for the president of the Ministry of Bank, Abubakar Arsamakov, who led this credit institution since 1998. However, it turned out that on November 14, 2020, the ex-banker died at the age of 65 due to a coronavirus infection. Nevertheless, according to Kommersant’s sources in law enforcement, they allegedly still have no official confirmation of this information.
An attempt to question the former vice-president of the Ministry of Bank Adam Arsamakov also failed – he escaped abroad. After being arrested in absentia, his name is expected to appear in the Interpol search database.
It is also noteworthy that after being ousted from his position at the Ministry of Banking, Arsamakov Jr. became nearly the only individual who contested this decision in court.
In his lawsuit, he asked to pay “lost earnings” for almost six months in the amount of 2.1 million rubles. (the salary of the ex-banker was 600 thousand rubles per month). However, in August 2019, the Simonovsky District Court of Moscow refused Arsamakov Jr.
Interestingly, in parallel with this, Adam Arsamakov was also suing the Central Bank, which “deprived him of the right to engage in banking activities and hold leadership positions.” In particular, the ex-banker demanded that the regulator’s order of January 29, 2019 be declared illegal, which stated that “he was found not to meet the requirements for business reputation.” At the same time, the applicant denied his guilt in the unfavorable financial situation of the Ministry of Bank, calling his actions as a member of the board of the credit institution “reasonable and conscientious”.
Arsamakov Jr. failed to win the dispute with the Central Bank and the Moscow Arbitration Court. In August 2020, the latter satisfied the regulator’s claim against the former vice president of the Minbank and 17 other top managers who controlled this credit institution, collecting almost 200 billion rubles from them jointly and severally.
The Ministry of Bank refused to comment on the situation with the arrest in absentia and the claims of the investigation against Adam Arsamakov.
