The deputy director and two other top executives of Russia's Energia Rocket and Space Corporation have been arrested on suspicion of attempted fraud, investigators say.
"Energia's deputy director, Aleksei Beloborodov, and two of his subordinates were arrested and charged with attempted fraud," the Investigative Committee of Russia said on August 19.
Russia's state-run TASS news agency reported that Beloborodov has been working with Energia since 2016 and served in the military for 13 years prior to that.
Energia, a major player in Russia's space industry, designs and manufactures the Soyuz and Progress spacecrafts and also produces ballistic missiles.
The Investigative Committee statement said the arrests were made as part of a probe undertaken "with the active assistance" of the Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), the country’s main intelligence agency.
Russian media reported that the FSB carried out several searches targeting the Russian space industry as part of an investigation into "high treason."
Russian daily Kommersant said a dozen Russian space industry employees are suspected of having sent classified information about Russian hypersonic weapon projects to Western security services.
Investigators did not mention those accusations in the statement on August 19, only that the charges are in reference to an alleged "attempt at fraud by an organized group in an especially large amount."
