The FINANCIAL – According to RIA Novosti, the Far East Prosecutor's Office has sent a criminal case to court against former mayor Vladimir Nikolayev, in custody on abuse of office charges, a prosecutor's aide said on November 19.
Nikolayev stands accused of abuse of office and could face seven years in prison if convicted.
Vladimir Nikolayev was detained in early March in Moscow and transferred to Vladivostok where a district court ordered his arrest.
Prosecutors said that while Nikolayev was not entitled to bodyguard protection, in September 2004 he signed a contract for armed bodyguards, and in September 2005 he illegally signed a contract to protect city administration property.
Both contracts were financed from the Far Eastern city's budget and between September 28, 2004 and January 31, 2007, a total of 4,400,000 rubles ($170,000) was illegally paid out.
Prosecutors said that during his trips around the city, Nikolayev's car would be accompanied by a column of police cars, in violation of the law, and that some 600,000 rubles ($23,000) from the city budget was used to pay for the police escorts in 2006.
Nikolayev has denied all charges.
Criminal proceedings were also launched against a deputy city administration head on misappropriation charges.
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