First deputy governor of Russia’s Novgorod detained over office abuse

First deputy governor of Russia’s northwestern Novgorod region Arnold Shalmuyev has been detained on office abuse charges and may be placed under arrest, spokesman for the Russian Investigations Committee Vladimir Markin told Itar-Tass on Thursday. Earlier, a criminal case on charges of acting in excess of office duties and forcing into a deal was opened against Shalmuyev and a deputy director of the state-run company Novgorodavtodor, Georgy Vishnyakov. This case was later consolidated with a criminal case of the misappropriation of 35 million roubles allocated to finance road reconditioning in the Novgorod region. On Wednesday, the Investigations Committee brought misappropriation charges to Nikolai Zakaldayev, the Novgorodavtodor director and lawmaker of the Chudovo municipal legislature, and Alexei Tutykin, the executive director of OOO Magistral. Both man were arrested.