German citizen Felix Neuberg will stand trial in Russia in absentia for his alleged role in ferry purchasing fraud involving former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, newspaper Kommersant reported on Aug. 7, 2026.
Investigators consider Neuberg, the former chief executive officer of Hong Kong company Tourinvest Services Limited, an accomplice of Ivanov in machinations involving ferry purchases for the Kerch Strait ferry crossing. Authorities charged Neuberg with embezzling 216.6 million rubles and laundering the funds.
Bank fraud and extradition refusal
Tourinvest Services Limited was involved in a scheme that stole 3.9 billion rubles from the bankrupt Intercommerz bank. Neuberg was scheduled to stand trial in 2019, but the Prosecutor General's Office did not approve the indictment. He was released from house arrest and returned to Germany, which refused Russia's extradition request.
Ivanov received a 13-year sentence and a 100 million ruble fine over the ferry scheme and the theft of funds from Intercommerz bank. He is currently facing a second trial in the Simonovsky Court of Moscow on charges of receiving bribes exceeding 1.3 billion rubles.
