MOSCOW, October 1 (RIA Novosti) – Urals news site Ura.ru confirmed on Monday that its chief accountant, Natalya Popova, has been released from detention.
Popova was detained by Sverdlovsk region police on September 27 as part of their investigation into the theft of 10 million rubles ($320,000) from Ura.ru’s account. The site’s editor-in-chief Aksana Panova denied any money was missing, adding in a statement on Ura.ru that the case was politically motivated. The police rejected these claims.
Ura.ru was established in 2006 and is co-owned by Panova and Austrian company BF TEN Holding. It is the most cited regional news agency in the key industrial region of the Urals. It made its reputation by taking on the local authorities, including a succession of governors, prosecutors and police chiefs, and accused the law enforcement agencies of harassing local businesses.
It also staunchly supported Yevgeny Roizman, the former federal legislator behind the controversial City Without Drugs foundation, known for its heavy-handed approach to treating drug addicts and relentless crackdown on drug-related crime in the Urals.
Ura.ru received official warnings over extremist comments left on the site by users in 2008, and faced power-shutdown threats in 2010. In August, Panova sued mobile operator MTS, claiming that it allowed police to wiretap her phone conversations without a court order.