Russian businessman to stay in jail pending laundering trial

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Russian businessman who lived a lavish life in North Carolina will remain in jail while he’s prosecuted on charges including money laundering and murder-for-hire.

An online court docket shows a federal magistrate judge ordered Leonid Teyf to stay in custody pending trial. The judge’s order Tuesday noted strong evidence against Teyf.

Prosecutors say in court documents that the 57-year-old Teyf stashed millions in U.S. bank accounts after helping to orchestrate a $150 million kickback scheme involving suppliers to the Russian military. They also accuse him of plotting to kill a man he suspected of an affair with his wife.

Defence attorneys argued in court documents that the charges are based on “questionable legal theories.” They note their client has lived in the U.S. nearly a decade without a criminal record.