Alexander Bastrykin, the head of Russia’s powerful Investigative Committee and one of the country’s most senior figures in the federal security services, has submitted his letter resignation, the RBC news website reported Monday.
The resignation letter was submitted on Sept. 20 to President Vladimir Putin Sep 20 and is currently being considered.
Earlier this month, RBC reported that Bastrykin would step down after Russia's parliamentary elections on Sept. 18. He has led the Investigative Committee for nearly a decade, beginning in 2007, when the agency was still a part of the General Prosecutor’s Office. The Investigative Committee’s prominent spokesman Vladimir Markin also resigned earlier this month.
The Investigative Committee has recently been rocked by a series of high-level dismissals and arrests as part of ongoing corruption investigations. Bastrykin himself railed against the officials “betrayal” and “besmirching” of the department’s reputation.
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