MOSCOW, July 17 (RAPSI) – The Commercial Court of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region has extended bankruptcy proceedings against ex-president of the Baltiyskiy Bank Oleg Shigayev, who stands charged with the 3-billion-ruble ($55 million) embezzlement, for six months, according to court records.

The court has therefore granted a motion lodged by a financial administrative receiver of the debtor.

In June 2018, Shigayev was declared insolvent.

Earlier, the court initiated debt restructuring process against Shigayev. His debt to the Center of Leasing Technologies has reached 400 million rubles. This sum has been included in the creditor claims’ list.

In April 2016, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia forwarded to Switzerland a request for extradition of Shigayev.

According to investigators, Shigayev had demanded that members of the bank’s credit committee approved loans to firms under his control. After that in June through August 2014 more than 3.3 billion rubles were transferred to the accounts of the said commercial companies.

Shigayev has been charged in absentia with fraud and money laundering. The Baltiyskiy Bank ex-head moved to Switzerland in autumn 2014 prior to the rehabilitation of the bank.

Baltiyskiy Bank, one of Russia’s oldest commercial banks, was established in 1989. According to “RIA Rating” as on July 1, 2014, Baltiyskiy was 69th among Russian banks in terms of total assets. The amount of the bank’s assets made 85.7 billion rubles ($1.5 billion) at that time, whereas the amount of household deposits was at 58 billion rubles ($1 billion).