Russian authorities have added the former head of Russia's division of VimpelCom telecom group to the country’s federal wanted list.
A court in the Russian city of Syktyvkar said on September 7 that Mikhail Slobodin, who currently lives in France, is wanted in connection with a bribery case stemming from his previous work with a regional electrical utility.
On September 5, investigators detained two associates of Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, whose holding companies owned the utility, suspected in the same case.
The suspects are alleged to have bribed top officials in Russia's northwestern region of Komi with more than 800 million rubles ($12.28 million) between 2007 and 2014 to get better conditions for doing business.
Vimpelcom, which runs Russia’s third-largest mobile-phone operator, announced on September 5 it had fired Slobodin.