MOSCOW, September 20 - RAPSI. The Supreme Court's criminal board overruled on Tuesday the imprisonment sentence passed against a businessman for fraud, the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI) reports from the courtroom.

Investigators maintain that Alexey Kozlov and his accomplices managed to steal 626,000 shares in a company producing imitation leather and films using fake documents and sham companies.

Kozlov pleaded not guilty.

A Moscow district court indicted Kozlov for fraud and sentenced him to eight years in prison in March 2009. The Moscow City Court cut his sentence to seven years in July.
Kozvol was released from custody by the board decision.

The board also reversed the district court's judgment, the Moscow cassation court's decision upholding it and the Moscow City Court's decision reducing the sentence.

The board resolved to remand the case for review and release Kozlov on his own recognizance.

Human rights activists and journalists applauded the ruling.