A group within the company that managed the pension fund is being accused of stealing 137 million rubles ($4.7 million).
In late January the fund announced it was preparing a statement for law enforcement in connection with large losses caused by poor management by the company's top executives, a team previously led by presidential candidate Mikhail Prokhorov. The fund said that mismanagement caused a loss of 3.1 billion rubles ($100 million).
After the announcement last month, a Prokhorov spokesperson called the accusation a provocation designed to slander the candidate ahead of the upcoming presidential vote.
The suspects in the case gained access to personal information of citizens, including passport and insurance numbers, that allowed them to falsify statements and agreements on the transfer of savings of citizens into their own accounts, Interior Ministry spokesperson Irina Volk told Interfax.
The suspects have been charged with large-scale fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a 1 million ruble ($30,000) fine.
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