UPDATE: Russia’s Renova execs arrested over bribery case

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ST. PETERSBURG, Sep 7 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Syktyvkar City Court on Wednesday arrested Yevgeny Olkhovik, a shareholder and board chairman of multi-industry holding Renova Group's affiliate power company T Plus, and T Plus CEO Boris Vainzikher for two months over a bribery case in the Komi Republic.

On Monday, Olkhovik and Vainzikher were detained on suspicion of giving bribes officials of the Komi Republic. The Federal Security Service and the Investigative Committee searched Renova’s offices in central Moscow on Monday, and Renova claimed the searches were related only to operations of T Plus.

Mikhail Slobodin, former CEO of mobile operator VimpelCom, who is also involved in the bribery case, was put on the federal wanted list upon a request of the Investigative Committee.

According to the Investigative Committee’s official representative Vladimir Markin, in 2007–2014, the former and current top executives of IES Holding, which has been reorganized into T Plus, gave bribes to officials in the Komi Republic for setting the best prices for heat and electric power and providing other incentives. The total sum of bribes exceeded 800 million rubles and a criminal case has been opened, Markin said on Monday.

(64.8306 rubles – U.S. $1)

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