Investigation into case against 2 former prosecutors completed in Russia

The investigation into the criminal case against former deputy prosecutor of the Moscow region Alexander Ignatenko and former deputy director of a department at the regional prosecutor's office Dmitry Urumov has been completed, Ignatenko's lawyer Alexander Asnis told Itar-Tass on Thursday. "We were notified yesterday that the criminal case against Ignatenko and Urumov had made a separate procedure and that the investigation had been completed. We'll start reading the case materials on April 12," the lawyer said. The defense will require about six weeks to read all 50 volumes of the case. "During preliminary investigation, Ignatenko refused to testify or take part in face-to-face interrogations," Asnis said. Ignatenko is accused of taking large bribes worth over 33 million roubles. He denied wrongdoing insisting that he was "interested in ascertaining the truth in the case". The former prosecutor was extradited to Russia from Poland on February 7, 2013. The Investigative Committee accuses him under Article 290, Part 4 of Russia's Criminal Code /taking bribe worth over 33 million roubles by a group/. The criminal case over land fraud under Article 159 was dropped, as it was Poland's condition for extraditing the suspect to Russia. In February 2011, the Federal Security Service reported that it had exposed an illegal gambling network in 15 towns of the region. It brought an estimated five to ten million dollars a year in revenue. The network had operated for some three years. At least 12 former law-enforcement officials were suspects. Interpol issued a wanted notice for Ignatenko on charges of fraud and taking 47 million roubles in bribes from suspected masterminds of illegal gambling business. On January 1, 2012, the former prosecutor was detained by Poland’s security agents as he was leaving the Zakopane resort where he had arrived several days before for reunion with his family. He spent a year in a Polish prison awaiting a ruling on his extradition. In late October, 2012, Poland's justice minister said he had decided to extradite Ignatenko. The latter could only be tried on charges of corruption; Poland was not extraditing the suspect under the fraud charges, the minister said. Under international norms, the extraditing country can impose such restriction if it doubts the correctness of the charges.