Investigators want to return former head of North Caucasus Resorts Bilalov to Russia.

The Tverskoy District Court of Moscow has received a petition for the in absentia arrest of Akhmed Bilalov, the former head of North Caucasus Resorts, who left Russia more than 12 years ago after Putin criticized the delays in Olympic construction.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, until February 2013, Akhmed Bilalov, a native of Dagestan, headed North Caucasus Resorts and served as vice president of the Olympic Committee. Vladimir Putin demanded his dismissal from all positions due to the delays in Olympic construction, after which Bilalov fled the country. In October 2019, Bilalov was detained at his Florida home on October 22 for immigration violations, but was released on bail a week and a half later.

A representative of the Main Investigative Department of the Moscow Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs filed a motion with the Tverskoy Court of Moscow for the arrest in absentia of Akhmed Bilalov in connection with a large-scale fraud case, Kommersant reported on January 28.

Details of the criminal case are unknown, and there is no information yet on whether it is related to charges previously brought against Bilalov or to newly established incidents. Akhmed Bilalov and his brother, Magomed Bilalov, a shareholder and chairman of the board of directors of the National Bank for Business Development, as well as deputy chairman of the board of directors of the Krasnaya Polyana Olympic construction contractor, were placed on the wanted list back in 2013, after they fled to Germany, the publication notes.

Bilalov has already been charged in absentia in the new fraud case, and he has already been placed on both the federal and international wanted lists, TASS reported on January 28.

According to investigators, Akhmed Bilalov may still be in the United States. They have asked the court to arrest Bilalov in absentia for two months from the date of his arrest or extradite him to Russia. Moscow's Tverskoy Court confirmed the presence of evidence regarding the arrest without further comment, the agency notes.

Krasnaya Polyana, a company associated with the Bilalovs, was the contractor for several Olympic venues in Sochi until the summer of 2012, including the Russkie Gorki ski jump complex. The venues were behind schedule, and their planned cost was more than four times exceeded.

Previous claims by security officials against Akhmed Bilalov

In April 2013, a criminal case was opened against Bilalov on suspicion of abuse of office as head of OJSC North Caucasus Resorts. Specifically, he was suspected of unjustified spending on business trips and entertainment expenses. His brother, Magomed Bilalov, was also charged at the time. On April 17, the press service of JSC KSK reported that Bilalov transferred all disputed travel expenses to the account of JSC North Caucasus Resorts.

Another criminal case, for abuse of power in a commercial organization (Article 201 of the Criminal Code), was opened against Bilalov in 2013 due to agreements concluded between JSC Krasnaya Polyana and the state corporation Olympstroy. The Ministry of Internal Affairs claimed that more than 1 billion rubles received from Sberbank were placed in the National Bank for Business Development at 4% per annum, and "at the next stage of the criminal scheme, the bank lent to controlled firms, which then issued loans to JSC Krasnaya Polyana at 12.5%," RTVI reports.

On April 23, 2013, the Ministry of Internal Affairs press service reported that Akhmed Bilalov was being investigated for involvement in an illegal tax evasion scheme on an especially large scale at the travel agency "Najm-Tour," which organizes pilgrimages to Mecca for Russian Muslims. According to investigators, from 2008 to 2010, "Najm-Tour" organized pilgrimage tours to Saudi Arabia for a fee. However, when submitting tax reports, the company's management failed to fully reflect the actual revenue received.