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Aeroflot Russian Airlines suspends first deputy director general

Andrei Kalmykov is under investigation on suspicion of abuse of authoritу

MOSCOW, June 20 (Itar-Tass) - The administration of Aeroflot Russian Airlines suspended Deputy Director General Andrei Kalmykov, who is under investigation on suspicion of abuse of authority.

"Andrei Kalmykov has been suspended for the period of the investigation into the criminal case opened by the Moscow regional investigation department on the transport. The company's press service told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

The investigators said "Kalmykov, as deputy director general for commerce of Aeroflot-Russian Airlines, secured advantages for the companies Sunrise Tour Grupp and Sunrise Tour, affiliated to his close relatives, which caused considerable harm to the rights and legitimate interests of the airline and the state, as its main shareholder."

On March 15, 2011, Kalmykov brokered a contract of flights with Sunrise Tour Grupp for 85,866 seats en route Moscow-Antalia-Moscow for the summer of 2011.

Under the contract, the price of economy-class seat was 221 dollars. Meanwhile, on March 10, 2011, Company Tez Tour offered to purchase 46,000 economy class seats at 320 dollars apiece, Markin said.

A check run by the Audit Chamber found that Sunrise Tour Grupp, when the contracts were signed in the period from 2010 through 2011, belonged to Sunrise Asset Management, co-founded by Andrei Kalmykov's wife and his mother.

Aeroflot's turning down the offer to sell seats on its flights at 320 dollars lost it 4,583,700 U.S. dollars, or 131.1 million roubles at an exchange rate of 28.6 roubles per one U.S. dollar.

The aggregate damage to the state as Aeroflot's main shareholder in the above transaction made up 78,236 million roubles.

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