Moscow police general arrested in fuel theft scandal

Authorities in the Moscow region have arrested a high-ranking police official and several executives from a major gas station network for the large-scale theft of fuel intended for law enforcement vehicles.

The investigation led to the arrest of Major General Sergei Malkov, deputy head of a regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Igor Martyshov, chairman of the board of EuroTrans, a network managing 57 service stations. Other detainees include Colonel Alexei Suyarov and Lieutenant Colonel Anna Levina.

Prosecutors allege that the stolen fuel was diverted and sold illegally. The seven suspects face charges of large-scale embezzlement, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Following the news, shares of EuroTrans fell by 6% on the Moscow Exchange.