The founder of agricultural major Rusagro, Vadim Moshkovich, has been placed in two-month pre-trial detention over fraud allegations

Russian prosecutors have detained Vadim Moshkovich, the billionaire founder of leading agro-industrial firm Rusagro, charging him with large-scale fraud and abuse of power, local media outlets reported on Thursday.

Rusagro is Russia's leading producer of sugar, meat, oil, and fats. Moshkovich, also a former Russian MP, was named by Forbes as Russia's 55th richest businessman in 2024, with a fortune of $2.7 billion.

The criminal case against Moshkovich was initiated upon request from a major Cyprus-based supplier of vegetable oils and fats, Solnechnye Produkty, the Vedomosti newspaper reported. The businessman was allegedly involved in fraud with the firm's assets to the amount of one billion rubles (nearly $12 million).

Moshkovich pleaded not guilty at a court hearing in Moscow, with his defense offering a one-billion-ruble bail to match the alleged amount of fraud in the case. However, the judge ruled that the businessman be placed in pre-trial detention until May 25 after the prosecution argued that he may attempt to flee abroad. Moshkovich reportedly has Israeli citizenship, and his children live in France and Cyprus.

If found guilty, he faces up to ten years in jail.

The former CEO of Rusagro, Maxim Basov, was also detained as police raided several of the company's offices. The company's current CEO, Timur Lipatov, was also questioned.

Rusagro said in a statement that its activities were continuing as normal and that all obligations were being met. The company's shares have lost over a third of their value since Moshkovich's arrest on Wednesday, according to data from the MOEX exchange.

Rusagro is Russia's only major listed agricultural company. It is not under Western sanctions, which were imposed on many of the country's businesses in the aftermath of the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.

Moshkovich himself was placed under sanctions by the European Union that year, leading to him resigning as chairman of Rusagro and cutting his stake below 50%.

Earlier this year, Rusagro moved its corporate registration from Cyprus to Russia following a court decision in a case brought by the Agriculture Ministry against the holding's Cyprus-based parent company.

(RT.com)