MOSCOW, August 26 - RAPSI. Interior Ministry officers have detained a colleague and his subordinate in Moscow Region, for extorting one million rubles ($34,000) from the head of a mortuary, the Interior Ministry said on Friday.

A criminal case has been opened against the police major and his subordinate. The two are facing the charge of fraud committed by means of abuse of office.

Between August 15 and 23, the suspects extorted one million rubles from the head of a municipal mortuary in exchange for not bringing criminal charges against him, the investigators said.