Despite Absence of Complaint, Former Banker is Charged with Yukos Charity Theft
According to a report published by RIA Novosti, on Monday the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office charged Dmitry Lyubinin, a former banker, with stealing money that the now-defunct Yukos company spent on charity back in 2004.
The charge is particularly puzzling because neither Yukos nor the receiving charity, the Coordination Center for Social Programs, ever made any complaint over missing money, prompting critics to argue that the charge was fabricated to help bolster the ongoing crackdown on senior Yukos managers.
In an announcement published on the prosecutor’s website, Mr. Lyubinin, who is believed to live in Switzerland, faces up to 10 years in prison on charges of misappropriating 20 million rubles.
A source close to Khodorkovsky’s legal team told RIA Novosti: “The disabled had no complaints, and Yukos had no complaints, but the investigators still decided the money was embezzled,” said the source, who asked for anonymity because he had no formal ties to Lyubinin’s defense team.
