MOSCOW, November 15 (RAPSI) – The Moscow City Court has upheld the sentence of gang leaders Sergey Magin and Vadim Rybalchenko, who received 8.5 years in a penal colony for unlawful cashing out and siphoning about 122.3 billion rubles ($2 billion) out of Russia, RAPSI learnt from the court’s press-service on Wednesday.

In December 2016, the Presnensky District Court of Moscow found 12 members of a criminal group guilty of siphoning money out of Russia. Five men were subjected to amnesty while five others were sentenced to real or suspended prison terms.

A judge clarified that the defendants’ fee revenue from illegal banking activity was estimated at over 611 million rubles ($10 million). Initially, during pretrial investigation they were suspected of siphoning about 169 billion rubles ($2.8 billion) and getting an 846 million-ruble ($14 million) income.

The gang which was comprised of over 400 men has been operating for over five years in different Russian regions, according to prosecutors. The funds were allegedly laundered through several commercial banks which were controlled by the gang and over 100 shell companies registered in Russia and abroad. The money ended up in banks in Baltic states and Cyprus, prosecutors said.