The longtime governor of Russia's Far Eastern region of Sakhalin has been accused of bribe-taking and flown to Moscow in handcuffs as part of a corruption investigation.
Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said Sakhalin Governor Aleksandr Khoroshavin and some of his associates were suspected of "accepting bribes in significant amounts."
Markin told reporters that police found large amounts of cash and expensive jewelry in homes belonging to Khoroshavin and his associates in Sakhalin as well as in Moscow and the region surrounding the capital.
Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Aleksandr Bortnikov said Khoroshavin, who was escorted to Moscow in handcuffs on a commercial flight on March 4, was detained in a "routine" corruption case.
Later on March 4 at Moscow's Basmanny court, investigators said Khoroshavin was suspected of accepting a $5.6 million bribe and could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
The court ordered Khoroshavin and his adviser, Andrei Ikramov, held in custody until April 27.
Interfax news agency reported that investigators believe that Khoroshavin accepted a huge bribe when contracts were signed for the construction of the N1 Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk thermal power station.
Interfax quoted investigators as saying that the wrongdoing took place during the construction of of the power station from 2010 through January 2013.
Khoroshavin, 55, has governed Sakhalin since 2007.
