The market was being "thoroughly cleaned" and could reopen after an inspection by the Federal Consumer Protection Service, said Vladimir Malyshkov, head of the city's consumer goods and services department.
Police closed the market Monday after the watchdog accused Cherkizovsky of violating a long list of sanitary and storage rules, and the Investigative Committee ordered City Hall to "eradicate the circumstances" that allowed the sale of smuggled goods. Mayor Yury Luzhkov said Tuesday that he had not received the order and railed against investigators for meddling in city affairs.
"I would like to know why the Investigative Committee is asking us questions about the use of land and is not fighting the smuggling problem," he said on a local TV station.
Medvedev told a government meeting that state land should be used to "build residential housing and not given out to random swindlers," in an apparent reference to Cherkizovsky. The market is largely located on the territory of a federal university.
A Chinese newspaper said $5 billion of goods remained in limbo at the market, Interfax reported Wednesday.
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