A manager for the Aeroexpress train service faces fraud charges after being caught taking a bribe in exchange for extending a shop's lease at Sheremetyevo Airport, police said.
The employee, identified only as the company's top manager for lessee relations, was arrested in a sting operation after the Interior Ministry's economics crime department received a tip that the suspect had demanded a bribe of 4 million rubles ($125,000), police said in a statement Friday.
A criminal case with charges of large-scale fraud has been opened. The charges carry a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison and a 1 million ruble fine.
Investigators are trying to determine whether anyone else at the company was involved in the extortion scheme.
Aeroexpress has a monopoly on train service to Moscow’s three airports and owns a building with retail space adjacent to Sheremetyevo Airport.
In February, the company also started running trains from the Adler airport to downtown Sochi.
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