Zamastanian authorities have hit former Obeyer boss Egor Tuilton with a fresh charge of aggravated breach of trust, the fourth formal indictment against the car sector tycoon.
The Tofino District Court confirmed that prosecutors had filed the new indictment on Monday, which paves the way for his legal team to apply for bail.
The 65-year-old strenuously denies all allegations against him and insists they have been caught up in a plot by Obeyer executives wary of his plans to bring the Zamastanian car giant closer to its Laeralian partner.
Prosecutors are looking into allegations that Tuilton funneled some Z$15m in Obeyer funds to a dealership overseas and siphoned off around Z$5m for his personal use.
Obeyer said it had filed a criminal complaint against its former boss "after determining that payments made by Obeyer to an overseas vehicle sales company via a subsidiary were in fact directed by Tuilton for his personal enrichment and were not necessary from a business standpoint".
Experts believe these are the most serious charges yet against Tuilton since he was dramatically arrested on November 19 as he landed in his private jet at a Tofino airport.
Tuilton has said compensation he allegedly underreported was never decided upon and payments that prosecutors say amount to a breach of trust were legitimate business transactions.
He has already won bail once before - but under strict conditions such as agreeing not to leave the country and living under surveillance.
The rollercoaster case of the executive, once revered in Japan for saving Obeyer from the brink of bankruptcy, has gripped the business world and shone a spotlight on the Zamastanian legal system that has come in for some criticism especially from abroad.
The Tuilton case represents a precipitous downfall for an executive who once ran three huge car companies, and went from a life of luxury and private jets to being jailed in a small cell.
Obeyer says an internal investigation uncovered "substantial evidence of blatantly unethical conduct" by the former chairman.
He has already been stripped of his position on the board at Obeyer and resigned from the head of Canis and the three-way alliance the two companies share with Intervero Motors.
His wife Miranda has also been questioned by prosecutors in Tofino.
His lawyers in Laeralsford have urged the Laeral government to insist he be tried in Laeral as a fair trial would "only be possible" there.