RPT-Russian court holds hearing on banker's murder
Source: Reuters
(Repeats to more subscribers) MOSCOW, Jan 12 (Reuters) - The Russian businessman suspected of ordering the murder of central bank deputy governor Andrei Kozlov was to make his first appearance in court on Friday for a preliminary hearing. A woman who was arrested two days ago as part of the investigation into Kozlov's shooting was also appearing in the same court. Alexei Frenkel is the former CEO of VIP Bank, which Kozlov closed down three months before he was shot. Russian media also linked Frenkel to Sodbiznesbank, which the central banker also closed down and whose former owner was shot dead in 2005. Frenkel was detained in the early hours of Thursday. The hearing at Moscow's Basmanny court was to ask a judge to formally approve his arrest and decide if he should be held in custody or freed on bail. Frenkel's lawyer Igor Trunov told Reuters Frenkel denies any guilt. There was a heavy police presence outside the court. Kozlov, who led a crusade against money laundering in Russia's secretive banking system, was shot in Moscow in September after playing in a soccer game between central bank officials and bankers. The killing, one of the highest profile assassinations of an official under President Vladimir Putin, raised concerns about stability and brought back memories of the murky contract killings of the 1990s. The Russian central bank, where Kozlov headed banking supervision, withdrew VIP Bank's licence in June 2006. Frenkel, who was born in 1971, fought the decision to have VIP Bank's licence withdrawn in court, the Vedomosti daily said. Kozlov, a father of three, was well respected in financial circles at home and abroad for the fight against financial crime in Russia's banking system, where prosecutors say hundreds of tiny "pocket" banks are used to launder billions of dollars. In 2004, Kozlov intervened in Sodbiznesbank, a small Russian bank that was accused of laundering ransom money from hostage-taking, sparking a mini-banking crisis as rumours spread that other banks were in a similar position. The former owner of Sodbiznesbank was shot dead in 2005 along with his wife, a child and a nun in a shooting in central Moscow. Russia's Interfax news agency reported that Frenkel was linked to the founding of Sodbiznesbank. Police have detained another suspect as part of the investigation into Kozlov's murder who was also due to appear in court. It was unclear what she was suspected of or what connection, if any, she had to Frenkel. "Liana Askerova was arrested on Jan. 10 on suspicion of complicity in the murder of Andrei Kozlov," her lawyer, Yevgeny Martynov, told reporters.
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