MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/. Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case over the emergence of an association whose activity implies violence against individuals and other harm to health in connection with activities by followers of the sect Aum Shinrikyo (Shining Path), outlawed in Russia, IC spokesman Vladimir Markin has said.

Those found guilty on these charges may face a fine of up to 300,000 rubles or a prison term of up to four years.

"The investigators have found that a group of unidentified plotters created an association of Aum Shinrikyo followers in Moscow and St. Petersburg no later than 2011. The religious group’s activity was accompanied by violence against individuals and other harm to their health," Markin said. "In 2012 through 2014 the Aum Shinrikyo group used the global telecommunication network Internet for money-raising purposes."

Also, the group held meetings of its members in both Moscow and St. Petersburg.

"At the moment IC investigators and also federal security service FSB and police operatives are conducting searches in Moscow and St. Petesrburg with the aim to identify likely accomplices and confiscate literature and other items meant for religious rites, and electronic information carriers crucial to investigating the criminal case," Markin said.

A court in Moscow prohibited the operation of Aum Shinrikyo in Russia back on April 18, 1995.