Moscow Region Police General, Gas Station Executives Detained Over Fuel Theft Scheme
A senior police general and several executives of the EuroTrans gas station chain have been detained in the Moscow region over an alleged scheme to steal fuel meant for police vehicles. The arrests come amid Russia's ongoing fuel shortages.
Russia's Interior Ministry announced Monday that a police general, two senior officers and several executives from a gas station operator in the Moscow region had been detained in connection with an alleged large-scale theft of fuel intended for police vehicles.
Authorities say Major General Sergei Malkov, who served as deputy head of the Moscow region's Interior Ministry branch and oversaw logistics, ran the scheme together with Igor Martyshov, chairman of the board of EuroTrans, a prominent gas station network.
Following their detention, Malkov and two subordinates, Colonel Alexei Suyarov and Lieutenant Colonel Anna Levina, were dismissed from the Interior Ministry. Investigators have requested that a court order them held in pre-trial detention.
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk said three additional EuroTrans executives have already been placed in pre-trial detention. All seven suspects face charges of large-scale embezzlement, an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The detentions follow a June accusation by Russia's antitrust regulator that EuroTrans, which runs 57 gas stations across the Moscow area, engaged in price gouging amid fuel shortages caused by Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries.
After news of the arrests broke, EuroTrans shares fell 6% on the Moscow Exchange, Interfax reported. Reuters reported that Russia's gasoline output had dropped to about 70% of domestic consumption by late August following months of refinery attacks.
