The Moscow Babushkinsky Court did not return the criminal case against the former governor of the Khabarovsk Territory Sergei Furgal and other defendants accused of the theft of SME Bank assets to the prosecutor’s office for further investigation. This was reported by TASS said the court’s press service.
It was announced that the hearing on the merits should start on December 19 at 12:00 Moscow time.
The judge also stated that the case would be heard publicly by a trio of judges.
Before that, the Babushkinsky court could not hold preliminary hearings and start hearing the case on the merits for almost two months because not all the defendants were transferred from Khabarovsk to Moscow.
Furgal was detained on July 9, 2020. According to the Investigative Committee of Russia, in 2004-2005 he attempted to assassinate businessman Alexander Smolsky and organized reprisals against businessmen Evgeny Zori and Oleg Bulatov. Furgal denies any wrongdoing. The case also names Furgal’s alleged accomplices Marat Kadyrov, Andrei Karepov and Andrei Paley. The former governor is also awaiting evaluation of a second case involving the theft of SME Bank assets.
In February 2023, Furgal was sentenced to 22 years in a maximum security colony. At the hearing, the lawyers demanded the acquittal of their clients, claiming that they did not see their crimes.
Furgal was governor of the Khabarovsk Territory from September 2018 to July 2020. He was arrested in July 2020, sparking mass protests in support of the governor in the Khabarovsk Territory and the Far East.
previous attempt accepted Furgal, the former governor of Khabarovsk, was sentenced to 22 years in prison.