MOSCOW, June 7 - RAPSI. Interior Ministry Gen. Alexander Bokov, sentenced to nine years in prison for defrauding a Moscow businessman of almost $10 million, has appealed his sentence.

The appeal claims that the judgment is unlawful and unfounded. The sentence will not come into force until the appeal is considered, the court has said.

According to the ruling, Bokov and his two accomplices mislead businessman Alexei Chegodayev by promising to assist him in acquiring Volgotanker. The general deceived the businessman into believing that the company was part of YUKOS and "all issues related to YUKOS should be resolved via the presidential administration."

Investigators hold that the general promised his assistance in exchange for hefty remuneration. Bokov said the funds were intended for his friends in the administration, who could help resolve the issues involved in the asset acquisition.

Bokovs accomplices, Gen. Mikhail Kreimer and Sergei Stepanov, have been sentenced to seven and four years behind bars, respectively.