MOSCOW, February 10. /ITAR-TASS/. A source in the Kremlin administration on Monday denied media reports that Russia’s notoriously famous former defense minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, was the holder of a high state award.

“He does not have the title of Hero,” the source told journalists.

Serdyukov was officially charged with negligence on December 6, 2013. According to investigators, he issued verbal instructions to his subordinates to build an automobile road from the Krasa village in the Astrakhan region to Shkolnyi Island, where a non-profit partnership Zhitnoye is located, on funds allocated from the Defense Ministry’s budget. He also ordered to develop Zhitnoye’s territory.

Investigators believe that Serdyukov’s actions caused over 56 million rubles ($1.6 million) worth of damage to the Russian state. However, the ex-minister is refusing to plead guilty. The indictment case has more than 50 volumes.