A Moscow tax official was caught red-handed accepting a bribe of 90,000 rubles ($3,000) to speed up the registration of a new company, Interfax reported Monday, citing the police.
Tatyana Demenok, deputy head of the Moscow tax department responsible for registering new firms, was allowed to remain at liberty but faces up to 12 years in prison if charged and convicted in the case, a police spokesman said.
He said Demenok might face additional bribery charges after money of an unidentified origin was found during a search of her office in northwestern Moscow. Long lines of entrepreneurs typically stand outside Demenok’s department waiting to get firms registered, and some have complained that their applications have been stalled among demands for bribes, Interfax said.
(MT)
