FSB detains Vector employee for bribery, embezzlement

In Novosibirsk, an employee of the Vector State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology (Vector), part of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor), has been detained on suspicion of taking a bribe and embezzling company funds. This was reported by the press service of the regional Federal Security Service (FSB) directorate.

«With the assistance of the leadership of the Vector State Research Center, it was established that the center«s employee received over 4.7 million rubles (about $50,000 at current rates) as a bribe for conducting research on biological samples in violation of established procedures in the interests of a commercial organization,» the FSB press service said.

In addition, the suspect is suspected of embezzling a large sum of money allocated to Vector under the national project «Science and Universities».

Based on the results of operational search activities by the regional FSB, the Investigative Committee of Russia (ICR) for the Novosibirsk Region has opened a criminal case against the Vector employee on charges of crimes under Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of Russia (receiving a bribe on an especially large scale) and Part 3 of Article 159 (fraud committed on a large scale using official position).

The suspect has been detained.

Earlier, we reported that FSB officers arrested the head of a Novosibirsk company on fraud charges; the damage is estimated at 13.5 million rubles (about $145,000 at current rates).