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Investigative Committee official suspected of corruption, placed under arrest

Rashid Ankosi is suspected of demanding a two-million dollar bribe for continuing probes in the interests of an individual

MOSCOW, May 29 /ITAR-TASS/. Moscow's Basmanny court has sanctioned the arrest of a senior investigator for special cases.

Rashid Ankosi is suspected of demanding a two-million dollar bribe for continuing probes in the interests of an individual. "The court ruled to grant the investigator's request for custody," Judge Artur Karpov said in a statement.

"Detectives characterized Ankosi as a calculating and revengeful person; he is well-versed in investigation methods and can obstruct them," the judge said explaining the decision.

A prosecutor said Ankosi's associates had already tried to contact the leadership of the FSB and the Investigative Committee with the view of stopping his criminal prosecution.

Ankosi and former Federal Security Service agent Yurchenko had opened a criminal case against the commercial firms Exposervis and Skif over falsified information submitted to a tax inspectorate.

Then they demanded two million dollars form Vladimir Stragiya, who was interested in the criminal probe against these firms.

During the hearing, Ankosi made no comments on the investigator's suspicions, but objected to his custody. "I believe the measure's too strict," he said.

His lawyer had insisted on house arrest for his client, referring to Ankosi's positive references and the fact that he had three underage children. The lawyer also said the court's custody ruling would be challenged.

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