The lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, stripped of immunity on Wednesday a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker who is accused of $65 million in fraud.
A total of 352 lawmakers of the State Duma voted to support a request by Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika. Thirty-nine deputies, all members of the Liberal Democratic Party, were against and five abstained from the vote.
This is the fourth time since the collapse of the Soviet Union when the State Duma stripped a lawmaker of his immunity.
Ashot Yegiazaryan is accused of embezzling more than 500 million rubles ($16.2 million) provided by his friend for the construction of a trade center in Moscow and the renovation of the Moskva Hotel adjacent to Red Square. Investigators say Yegiazaryan proposed Mikhail Ananyev in 2003 to invest in the facilities in exchange for stakes in them.
Yegiazaryan is also believed to have fraudulently acquired the right to 20 percent of shares worth over 1.5 billion rubles ($48.7 million) in a joint stock company that runs a Moscow trade and recreation complex.
A criminal case was initiated in October against the lawmaker over "large-scale fraud," which means that Yegiazaryan may face up to ten years in prison if found guilty.
The lawmaker, who has dismissed the accusations as "slanderous fabrications," was not present at Wednesday's State Duma session. In a letter sent to the parliament, Yegiazaryan said he had gone abroad over a "real threat" to his life, the lives of his children and close relatives. His location has not been disclosed.
MOSCOW, November 3 (RIA Novosti)
