The Moscow Prosecutor’s Office said Wednesday that a Moscow court found former Russian Open Government Minister Mikhail Abyzov guilty in a fraud case, bringing his combined prison term to 14 years.
The Moscow Times reported that the verdict came from Tagansky District Court and concerned investments in Alion Energy, a U.S.-based solar energy company. Prosecutors alleged that Abyzov and two business associates misled an unidentified entity into continuing its investments in Alion, with $5 million embezzled, the outlet reported.
Abyzov denied the charges, according to The Moscow Times. He said the venture cost him money and that he kept investing personal funds in Alion after the alleged embezzlement.
The 14-year total includes a separate 12-year prison term imposed in 2023, which Abyzov was serving when the court ruled in the Alion case, the newspaper reported. That earlier case involved accusations of defrauding two Siberian energy companies, forming an organized crime group, illegal business activity and bribery.
The Moscow Times reported that the court also fined Abyzov 80.1 million rubles ($968,200), barred him from public office for three years and stripped him of state awards. The outlet said it was not immediately clear how many years were assigned specifically to the latest case.
Authorities filed charges more than a year before the ruling as part of an investigation into the alleged fraud, the newspaper reported. The sentence may be appealed; Abyzov’s lawyer had not indicated whether he planned to challenge it.
