FBK employees summoned for questioning en masse in connection with Navalny fraud case

State investigators in Moscow have summoned Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) employees for questioning en masse, in connection with a fraud case against jailed opposition politician Alexey Navalny, FBK director Ivan Zhdanov wrote on Telegram.

According to Zhdanov, police served Navalny’s associates with summons in the early hours of May 19. Apparently, the officers “tried to slip the documents under [their] doors.” Those who spoke with the police were informed that approximately 70 FBK employees were being called in for questioning. 

Zhdanov also published a photo of one of the documents on Twitter — it orders the recipient to appear before the Investigative Committee on May 19 for questioning as a witness.  

Russian investigators launched a criminal case for large-scale fraud against Navalny on December 29, 2020. According to the investigation, Navalny embezzled hundreds of millions of rubles worth of donations from the FBK and other non-profit organizations. 

In February, a Moscow court revoked Navalny’s probation in the Yves Rocher case and imprisoned him under a reinstated sentence. He is currently serving 2.5 years in a prison colony in Russia’s Vladimir region. 

In mid-April, prosecutors in Moscow filed a lawsuit asking the city to add three organizations affiliated with Navalny to Russia’s list of illegal extremist groups: the FBK, the Citizens’ Rights Protection Foundation, and his network of regional campaign offices. The court hearing on the claim is scheduled for June 9.