TOMSK, Russia -- A court has ruled that the mayor of the Siberian city of Tomsk, Ivan Klyain, must be suspended from his post after being arrested last week on suspicion of abuse of office.
The Kirov district court in Tomsk ruled on November 18 that Klyain should remain suspended for the duration of the investigation into his activities surrounding the denial of a construction permit near a business his family controls.
Klyain was detained on November 13 and was placed in pretrial detention for at least two months.
On November 18, Klyain's lawyers said they have appealed their client's pretrial detention.
The same day, Klyain's wife, Galina Klyain, was summoned for questioning in what law enforcement officials called her "resistance to police" during a search of her family’s house.
Media reports said Galina Klyain faces up to 10 years in prison if charged and convicted for hampering the investigation.
The Investigative Committee said earlier that Ivan Klyain is suspected of using his official post to illegally prevent the construction of a building in 2016-2017 on territory close to the Tomsk Beer company, which he controls.
The 61-year-old Klyain has served as the mayor of Tomsk since 2013. Before being appointed to the post, he had been the director-general of the Tomsk Beer company, one of the largest breweries in the region, since 1994.
After becoming mayor, his wife was elected by Tomsk Beer's board of directors as the facility's director-general.
In 2013, the Kommersant newspaper wrote that Klyain owned 51 percent of Tomsk Beer, while his spouse and daughters owned 20 percent of the company's shares.
For several years, Klyain declared one of the highest incomes among Russian mayors, according to Moskovsky Komsomolets.
Klyain is the third mayor of the Siberian city to be detained on suspicion of abuse of office since 2006.
Mayor Of Siberian City Arrested On Corruption Charge Suspended From Post
Tomsk Mayor Ivan Klyain (file photo)