Chief Of Russian Carrier Under House Arrest

Russian airline executive Yaroslav Odintsev (file photo)

The head of the Russian state air carrier serving President Vladimir Putin and other top-ranking officials have been placed under house arrest on charges of abuse of office.

A Moscow court said on September 13 that Yaroslav Odintsev, the director of the Special Flight Detachment Rossiya airline, has been put under house arrest for two months pending the official investigation.

The probe has focused on accusations of misspending funds earmarked for the purchase of air conditioning systems, according to Russian media reports.

Odintsev has denied the allegations.

It is the latest in a series of corruption investigations targeting top Russian officials.

On September 9, the acting head of an anticorruption agency at the Russian Interior Ministry, Dmitry Zakharchenko, was arrested for receiving bribes after police found banknotes worth more than $120 million in a raid on a Moscow flat.

Based on reporting by AP and Interfax