New criminal charges have been added to the arrested Ingushneft director

Ingushneft Executive Director Umar Balayev has been charged with new criminal offenses. Charges of embezzlement (Part 3, Article 160 of the Russian Criminal Code) and abuse of power causing damage to the state (Part 1, Article 201 of the Russian Criminal Code) have been added to the fraud case.

Balayev, 38, will remain in custody until March 20. This brings his total arrest to more than 10 months. According to investigators, he allegedly ordered oil production at the Malgobek-Voznesenskoye field without permission and transferred funds for non-existent services totaling 5 million rubles.

Balayev denies his guilt, and his lawyer, Khusein Guliyev, believes the criminal prosecution is an attempt to remove him from office.

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