Russia opens criminal case against ex-cenbanker Korischenko

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian prosecutors have opened a criminal case against a former deputy governor of the central bank on suspicion of misappropriation and embezzlement, court files showed on Friday.

A Moscow court ordered Konstantin Korischenko, a former senior executive at Investbank, to be held in custody for two months. He could face up to 10 years in jail as well as a fine of up to 1 million roubles ($13,800) if convicted.

Reuters could not immediately reach Korischenko or his lawyers for comment. The central bank's press office declined to comment.

Korischenko worked at the central bank from 2002 to 2008. He later became the head of the MICEX exchange, the predecessor of the Moscow Exchange. He became the head of mid-sized lender Investbank in 2012.

The central bank cancelled Investbank's licence in 2013, citing mounting payment problems and dubious operations, during its wide-scale purge of the banking sector led by then newly-appointed Governor Elvira Nabiullina.

The Russian presidential academy of national economy and public administration, where Korischenko is the head of capital markets and financial engineering department, said the criminal case against him was not related to his work at the academy.

TASS and RBC new agencies cited sources as saying Korischenko's office and home had been searched on Friday.

(Reporting by Tatiana Voronova and Elena Fabrichnaya; Writing by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Gareth Jones)