The Tverskoy District Court of Moscow recognized businessman Alexander Galitsky and his fund Almaz Capital Partners as an "extremist association" and banned their activities in Russia, TASS reports.
In addition, the court ordered Galitsky's property, with a total value of 8 billion rubles, to be transferred to state revenue, since, it is alleged, the businessman supported the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the agency, the ruling takes effect immediately.
"We do not agree with the court's decision and will appeal it. Of course, we need to wait for the reasoned part of the decision, but we consider the granting of the claims itself to be unfounded," attorney Kira Koruma, who represents Galitsky, told Vedomosti.
According to her, the defense submitted all evidence confirming the businessman's non-involvement in extremist activity. In particular, the lawyers provided documents showing that Galitsky left Almaz Capital Partners in 2022.
Koruma also said the defense provided evidence that since 2021 the fund had not invested in the disputed companies. All startups that received funding from Almaz Capital Partners are unrelated to the military-industrial complex of any state, the attorney added.
On March 11, it became known that the Prosecutor General's Office had demanded that Galitsky and Almaz Capital Partners be recognized as an "extremist association" and that their property be transferred to state revenue.
As sources told Interfax and RBC, the prosecutor's office determined that Almaz Capital and Galitsky transferred 50 million dollars to Ukrainian companies involved in the production of weapons, ammunition, and drones. The agency also identified interaction between the fund's subsidiaries and the Ukrainian platform United24.
According to the prosecutor's office, after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Almaz Capital fund supported U.S. and EU sanctions against Russia, stopped investing in Russian companies, and began moving capital abroad. After the start of the war in Ukraine, the holding, the agency says, condemned the actions of the Russian authorities, joined Western sanctions, and began providing military assistance to Ukraine.