Three anti-corruption officers at Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) have been arrested on charges of accepting more than 5 billion rubles ($55.2 million) in bribes, the state-run TASS news agency reported Monday, citing an anonymous law enforcement source.
“Alexei Tsaryov, Sergei Manyshkin and Alexander Ushakov of the FSB’s Directorate M are accused of a series of crimes, including attempted bribes totaling more than 5 billion rubles,” the source was quoted as saying.
TASS reported that Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, is leading an investigation into the case.
The news agency did not specify whom the FSB officers are suspected of soliciting the bribes from or when the attempted crimes took place.
Manyshkin and Tsaryov reportedly made a plea deal with investigators and have been placed under house arrest after testifying against their colleagues.
Ushakov was taken into custody on additional charges of organizing a criminal group, which carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, TASS said.
The FSB has not publicly commented on the arrest of its agents.
According to TASS, the FSB’s Directorate M was created in 1999-2000 to carry out counterintelligence work and to combat corruption in Russia’s law enforcement agencies, court system and emergency services.
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