Lerchek case sent to Moscow City Court for appeals

The case of blogger Valeriya Chekalina, known as Lerchek, has been sent to Moscow City Court for appeals by the defence and prosecution, RIA Novosti reported on October 16, citing the court.

Moscow's Gagarinsky District Court imposed the five-year suspended prison sentence, the 763.5 million rouble fine and a three-year ban on administering websites on July 31. Both the defence and prosecution appealed.

The case concerns transfers to the United Arab Emirates of proceeds from online fitness programmes. Investigators alleged that more than 251.5 million roubles was transferred between September 2021 and February 2022 using documents containing false information about the grounds and purposes of the transactions.

Moscow City Court has scheduled the separate appeal by the blogger's former husband, Artyom Chekalin, who received a seven-year prison sentence, for October 21.