MOSCOW, March 21 (RAPSI) – Former top manager of the Russian space agency Roscosmos Vladimir Yevdokimov, who died in a detention center under indeterminate circumstances, was not going to cooperate with investigators, RIA Novosti reported on Tuesday, citing his lawyer Yelena Kapchinskaya.

According to Kapchinskaya, Yevdokimov did not have any information valuable to investigators and did not plan to admit guilt. She said that she had met Yevdokimov a day before he was found dead and did not notice anything strange about his behavior. Kapchinskaya added that his family is to decide later whether to ask the authorities to close the criminal case or investigate it further in hope to prove him not guilty.

Yevdokimov used to be the head of quality and safe control at the Roscosmos state corporation. He was charged with fraud in a criminal case over embezzlement of Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG. Yevdokimov was detained on December 1, 2016. On March 18, he was found dead in a detention center in Moscow. According to investigators, he received knife wounds and it is currently unknown whether it was a suicide or a murder. The investigation into Yevdokimov’s death is underway.

The press-service of the Investigative Committee previously reported that the defendants in the criminal case, acting as an organized criminal group, were responsible for illegal takeover of MiG’s property.

Alexey Ozerov, former CEO of MiG-Rost, and Yegor Noskov, deputy CEO of Tupolev aircraft company, were also members of the group, according to investigators. They were put in detention as well.

An arrest warrant in absentia was issued for Alexey Andreev, former deputy general director of Helicopter Service Company.

Akim Noskov, CEO of Helicopter Service Company, absconded during the investigation.