The governor of Russia's oil and natural gas-rich island of Sakhalin in the country's far east has been charged with large-scale bribery involving an energy company, investigators said on Friday.
The Investigative Committee, which reports directly to President Vladimir Putin, said Alexander Khoroshavin received more than $5.6 million in bribes as governor to facilitate business activities for an energy company called Energostroi.
Under Russia's Criminal Code, he could be fined or jailed for up to 15 years.
Khoroshavin, whose term as governor began in 2007 and is due to expire in 2016, was arrested last week in Sakhalin and flown handcuffed to Moscow. He declared his innocence in a pre-trial hearing and asked to be released on bail under house arrest.
The case comes as Russia's two top energy giants, Rosneft and Gazprom, have been engaged in a court battle over access to Gazprom's pipelines for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Sakhalin that Rosneft wants to build with ExxonMobil.
Investigators said raids on his houses, including one in Moscow, had found large sums of money, jewellery, expensive watches and phones.
Corruption has long been rife in Russia, even under Soviet rule. Transparency International ranked the country 136th in its 2014 Corruption Perception Index, just behind Nigeria.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
