Russia’s federal Interior Ministry has carried out extensive raids at the Interior Ministry in Ingushetia, the residence of the republic’s interior minister, and private officers belonging to the ministry as part of an investigation into the embezzlement of $13 million in federal funds.
According to Russian-state news agency TASS the funds were allocated for the operation of law enforcement bodies in the republic.
According to sources from TASS, the first arrests in the case took place about two months ago. At the time, at least three individuals — all heads of financial departments at the regional and municipal levels — were detained. Their detention triggered a broader investigation by Moscow.
‘Two months ago, the heads of financial departments at the regional Interior Ministry, as well as at district and municipal branches, were arrested. The first team from the Main Directorate of Internal Security of the Interior Ministry arrived from Moscow and conducted searches in the ministry and at the minister’s premises’, the source said.
Among those arrested in the case were the head of the financial support centre in Ingushetia’s Interior Ministry, and the head of the ministry’s finance department, an accountant from the Sunzha district’s local police department. Their names have not been disclosed.
Searches and seizure of financial documentation also took place at the police department of the town of Karabulak. All suspects have been transferred to Moscow. One of the accused — the head of the finance department in Sunzha — has been placed under house arrest.
The press office of the Ingush Interior Ministry confirmed to Interfax that the raids are taking place as part of an embezzlement case, with the preliminary estimate of the damages exceeding ₽1 billion ($13 million).
According to official sources, earlier joint operations by the Russia’s Interior Ministry and the Ingush FSB have uncovered evidence of the involvement by several local ministry employees in the misuse of federal funds. Based on these findings, a formal investigation was launched, and coordinated raids were carried out across the republic.
The Ingushetian Interior Ministry’s press office also stressed that those found guilty of involvement in the case will be dismissed from police service and face legal punishment. Their superiors will also be subject to strict disciplinary measures.
Elizaveta Chukharova
