Businessman Levon Hayrapetyan, who is placed under house arrest, was urgently
hospitalized on December 23, Hayrapetyan's doctor Henry Bakunts says.
The businessman suffers from an oncological disease,
heart problems, high blood pressure and diabetes. "He cannot be in custody. Such patients should undergo
hospital treatment", says Bakunts.
To recall, Levon Hayrapetyan was detained in a Moscow
airport on July 15 and subsequently arrested. Hayrapetyan is charged with being
privy to the Bashneft sale by Ural Rakhimov to AFK Sistema's structures in
April 2009. Rakhimov headed Bashneft for 3 years. On July 24, the Russian
Federation Investigation Committee brought two criminal charges against
him: embezzlement or misuse, and money
laundering. On September 12, the
Russian-Armenian businessman was charged with fraud, too. On October 3,
however, a Moscow district court ruled in favor of releasing Hayrapetyan from
prison and placing him under house arrest. Even though Levon Hayrapetyan has
health problems, he was kept in prison for a long time. On July 14, under the
criminal case against Rakhimov Jr., the Moscow court arrested Bashneft's
control block of shares belonging to AFK Sistema (71.76%). Afterwards, the court arrested another
12.57% belonging to Sistema Invest. Sistema acquired Bashneft's control block
of shares in 2009, and the sellers are supposed to have been structures close
to Rakhimov Jr.
To note,
Vladimir Yevtushenkov, the majority shareholder of AFK Sistema, has already
been released from arrest.