OREANDA-NEWS  The Moscow petty-bourgeois court arrested in absentia 43-year-old German citizen Franz Ruppert Alois Wisbeck, who is involved in a large-scale investigation of the Russian Interior Ministry on non-payment of customs duties. This is reported by Kommersant.

Alexander Lepikhov, the former head of a forestry enterprise in the Khabarovsk Territory, is also being investigated. A warrant for arrest in absentia has also been issued against him.

Visbek's lawyer Nikolai Yashin insists on the legitimate business activities of his client. He and Lepikhov ran a logging business in the Far East. The details of the case are unknown.

On December 11, 2023, the Moscow court refused the Interior Ministry's arrest in absentia of restaurateur Alexander Orlov, who founded the Tanuki and Ruff chains. The damage in his case amounts to 20 million rubles. His lawyer stated that the amount has been repaid. The defender added that the restaurateur is ready to return to Russia at the request of the investigation.