The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Kabardino-Balkaria has been detained in a bribery case.

Mikhail Nadezhin, head of the Kabardino-Balkarian Ministry of Emergency Situations, has been detained in a bribery case, law enforcement sources reported.

Major General of the Internal Service, Nadezhin is a native of Nalchik. He served in the republic's Ministry of Emergency Situations "in various leadership positions" since 2000, and became head of the agency in 2014.

Law enforcement sources reported searches of Nadezhin's office and home. Nadezhin himself has been detained in connection with a 2 million ruble bribe, TASS reported.

The investigation is being conducted under the article on bribery on an especially large scale (Part 6 of Article 290 of the Russian Criminal Code carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison). Investigators believe that the head of the Kabardino-Balkarian Ministry of Emergency Situations accepted money from a local businessman for signing fire safety documents without actually inspecting buildings and premises, and also signed contracts for maintenance and emergency rescue operations on behalf of the department, according to the SHOT Telegram channel.

Entrepreneur Anzor Nogmov, whom investigators suspect of bribing Nadezhdin, and Deputy Head of the Republic's Ministry of Emergency Situations for Anti-Terrorism, Khasan Appoyev, have also been detained, according to the Mash Gor Telegram channel. A source for the state news agency denied reports of Appoyev's detention, stating that he is at work.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that on September 29, it was reported that another high-ranking security official in the North Caucasus had been detained. The head of the Russian National Guard in North Ossetia, Major General Valery Golota, and several of his subordinates have been detained in a bribery case, sources reported.

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