Russia detains former, current deputy energy ministers in fraud probe, media reports

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian investigators detained one current and one former deputy energy minister on Thursday, Russian media reported, as part of an investigation into fraud in the coal industry.

Deputy Energy Minister Sergei Mochalnikov, who has been in office since April 2022, and Anatoly Yanovsky, who served from 2008 until 2021, have been detained, Interfax news agency reported citing law enforcement sources.

The Energy Ministry confirmed investigative actions against the current and former deputy ministers without naming them.

The ministry told state news agency RIA Novosti that it was assisting law enforcers in the investigation.

The charges are related to fraud linked to the closure of coal mines, Interfax reported. Both men were responsible for the coal industry in their positions at the ministry.

The Kommersant business daily reported that a further four unnamed people had been detained alongside Mochalnikov.

It said that direct damages in the case amounted to 500 million roubles ($5 million), with indirect damages of 12 billion roubles.

Neither Mochalnikov nor Yanovsky were available for comment, and Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) did not immediately confirm the detentions.

Russia in recent months has been swept by a series of high-profile corruption cases with a string of senior defence officials arrested on charges including large scale bribery and embezzlement.

($1 = 96.6500 roubles)

(Writing by Felix Light and Filipp Lebedev; editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Elaine Hardcastle)