MOSCOW, August 9 - RAPSI. Corruption in the Russian armed forces continues to grow. It is estimated that government losses totaled as much as $31.72 million in 2012, Alexander Sorochkin, head of the Russian Investigative Committee's Main Military Investigation Department, said.

"What is most disturbing is that the amount of financial losses due to corrupt transactions continues to grow. This year it increased 33 percent to approximately 992 million rubles ($31.47 million), Sorochkin said in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily.

Sorochkin did indicate that in general, the total number of corruption cases had declined by 3.5 percent to as few as 2,000. But against this general reduction, the figure for armed forces increased by as much as four percent.

The investigator also said that the number of corruption cases had dropped by about three percent at the Defense Ministry and two percent at the Federal Security Service. As for the Interior Ministry and border authorities, the figure has jumped by about 19 percent.

He said that in six months about 2,000 reported cases of corruption had been filed with military investigators. After reviewing the reported incidents, criminal cases were initiated in about 40 cases.