MOSCOW, November 16 - RAPSI. The Interior Ministry has revealed that 53 million rubles ($1.64 million) were embezzled from state contracted funds for the maintenance of military cities, a press officer from the Interior Ministry told RIA Novosti.

The spokesman said that in 2011 two state contracts worth 63 billion rubles ($1.98 billion) were signed with a commercial firm. The firm agreed to carry out the technical maintenance of facilities in the Defense Ministry's military cities and other foundations belonging to the ministry. The company then subcontracted the work.

From 2011 a subcontractor was paid a total of around 90 million rubles ($2.83 million) to repair the ventilation systems in the building and carry out maintenance, as all the major repairs had recently been completed. In fact, however, the buildings have no ventilation systems at all.

"The state budget has incurred losses of around 53 million rubles ($1.64 million)," the ministry's spokesperson said.

According to the ministry, two suspects have been detained in regards to this and are currently making their confessions.