The longtime governor of Russia's Far Eastern region of Sakhalin has been charged with "bribe-taking in large amounts."
The Russian Investigative Committee spokesman, Vladimir Markin, said on March 13 that Aleksandr Khoroshavin is suspected of taking some $5.6 million in bribes from a company in Sakhalin, Energostroy.
The committee accused Khoroshavin of demanding a 6 percent kickback on proceeds from an Energostroi contract in exchange for unspecified "actions in favor of Energostroi."
He could be sentenced to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Khoroshavin's associate Andrei Ikramov was charged as the middleman in the alleged bribery scheme.
Khoroshavin and Ikramov were brought from Sakhalin Island to Moscow on March 4 and sent to pretrial detention until April 27, a period that can be extended.
Khoroshavin, 55, has governed the remote Sakhalin region since 2007.