MOSCOW. Nov 3 (Interfax) - Moscow's Basmanny District Court has issued an arrest warrant for co-owner of Moskapstroy Maxim Shcherbakov, who has been charged in a criminal case on embezzlement of about 600 million rubles from a contract with Roscosmos, an informed source told Interfax on Tuesday.
"The court has decided on a restraining measure, issuing an arrest warrant for Shcherbakov," the source said.
Shcherbakov will be arrested for two months from the moment of his detention or extradition to Russia, the source said.
The Basmanny District Court confirmed to Interfax that investigators on Tuesday filed a motion with the court for a restraining measure in the form of remand for Shcherbakov.
Shcherbakov is a defendant in a criminal case on especially largescale fraud. He was charged in absentia.
The Russian Investigative Committee initiated the criminal case against him in 2019, the source said.
The investigators established that Moskapstroy, a construction and engineering company, received a subcontract worth 630 million rubles from the Research and Testing Center of the Rocket and Space Industry, which is part of the Roscosmos state corporation, to conduct burning tests of liquid rocket engines in Sergiyev Posad outside Moscow, the source said.
The cost of the testing was about 50 million rubles, and the rest of the money was stolen, the source said.
Shcherbakov was first identified as a witness in the case and fled abroad about a year ago, the source said.
According to the SPARK-Interfax analytical system, Shcherbakov owns a 50% share in Moskapstroy. The company is currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings.