Spain extradites Russian businessman accused of stealing from FSB
Spain has extradited Invest Victoria CEO Mikhail Lyagin, who is accused of stealing more than 550 million rubles ($9.7 million) from an FSB enterprise, the press service of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) told Interfax.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has charged Lyagin according to two articles of the Criminal Code – Art. 159 (fraud on an especially large scale) and Art. 174 (money laundering). The case is being overseen by the Sochi department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Krasnodar Krai.
The investigation believes that Lyagin “deliberately failed to meet his contractual obligations in three consecutive contracts, and stole monetary funds belonging to the Russian FSB’s Kavkaz Military Construction Department enterprise”. The department states that he stole more than 550 million rubles, causing grave damage to the company. At the same time, Lyagin “laundered” more than 390 million rubles.
Russia’s PGO did not specify when the case had been filed. Lyagin was placed on the international wanted list. Arrest was the restraint measure chosen for him.
In February 2016, the businessman was arrested in Spain, after which the Russian PGO sent a request for his extradition. The accused was extradited from the Madrid airport on February 21.