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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian farming billionaire Vadim Moshkovich was remanded in custody for two months by a Moscow court on Thursday after his detention on suspicion of large-scale fraud, the highest-profile arrest in years of a major businessman in Russia.
Moshkovich, who Forbes says has a fortune of $2.7 billion, appeared in a glass cage in Moscow's Meshchansky court, handcuffed and carrying a copy of David Eagleman's book "The Brain" and a bottle of water.
Court documents showed that Moshkovich is accused of large-scale fraud and could face up to 10 years in jail if convicted. Moshkovich pleaded not guilty to the charges.
"Vadim Moshkovich, the founder of Rusagro, was sent to the pre-trial detention centre," Moscow's court service said, adding that the court had dismissed appeals from his lawyers for him to be granted house arrest or bail.
The arrest of Moshkovich, who started out selling computers amid the chaos of post-Soviet Russia before building one of Russia's most powerful agricultural holdings, sent shockwaves through Russia's business elite.
There was no comment from the Kremlin on the arrest.
It is the highest-profile arrest of a Russian businessman since the 2018 arrest of Summa shipping and logistics group founder Ziyavudin Magomedov and the 2014 house arrest of AFK Sistema shareholder Vladimir Yevtushenkov.
The market capitalisation of Rusagro, Russia's leading producer of sugar, pork, oil and fats, tumbled by a third over two days on the news, according to data from the Moscow Stock Exchange.
BILLIONAIRE IN JAIL
The Kommersant newspaper said officers from the Federal Security Service (FSB) and anti-corruption police raided company offices in Moscow and other cities, as well as the homes of senior managers, and took away files, phones and servers.
It was not immediately clear what prompted the arrest, though Russia's top media outlets noted that he had been involved in a long legal conflict with the founders of a major supplier of vegetable oils and fats whose assets were bought in 2018 by Rusagro.
Rusagro issued a statement on Wednesday confirming several of its offices had been searched but saying the operation was not related to its "current activities".
It said all company activities were continuing as normal, and all obligations were being met. "We are confident in the transparency of our work and expect the procedures to be completed as soon as possible."
The European Union sanctioned Moshkovich in 2022 after he attended a meeting of businessmen with President Vladimir Putin on the day that Russia invaded Ukraine. The EU said he had Russian and Cypriot passports.
Following the sanctions, Moshkovich resigned as chairman of Rusagro in 2022 and cut his stake below 50%. Rusagro, which is not under Western sanctions, is Russia's only major listed agricultural company.
Rusagro changed its domicile from Cyprus to Russia, following a Russian court decision in a case brought by the Agriculture Ministry against Rusagro's Cyprus-based parent company.
A group of members of the lower house of Russia's parliament asked the Justice Ministry in 2024 to designate Moshkovich as a "foreign agent", a legal status often assigned to opposition activists, due to the company's Cyprus domicile.
(This story has been refiled to remove an extraneous paragraph)
(Reporting by Reuters in Moscow; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Gareth Jones)
