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Probe launched into how Navalny used his donations

According to the investigation, Navalny spent over 356 million rubles collected as donations for his personal needs

MOSCOW, December 29. /TASS/. The investigators have initiated a criminal case against blogger Alexey Navalny over charges of embezzlement of 356 million rubles worth of donations to a number of his organizations.

"The Main Investigative Directorate of Russia’s Investigative Committee collected enough information to initiate a criminal case against Alexey Navalny and other people over signs of [fraud on especially large scale]," the Investigative Committee said.

According to the investigation, over 588 million rubles were collected as donations for a number of non-profit organizations. These funds were purposed exclusively for the operation of Navalny’s foundations.

"According to the investigation, Navalny, the de-facto leader of mentioned organizations, acting together with other people, spent over 356 million rubles out of this sum for his personal purposes: purchase of personal property, material values and payment for expenses, including vacations abroad. Therefore, the money collected from the citizens, were embezzled," the Committee said.

An investigation is underway, the investigators seek to identify everyone involved in the scheme.