MOSCOW, April 8 (RAPSI) - A court in Russia's remote Amur Region ordered that Sergei Terentyev, CEO of Stroyindustriya-S construction company, be detained after workers building the Vostochny cosmodrome went on strike over salary delays, RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday, citing Investigative Committee spokesperson Vladimir Markin.

Investigators found that Terentyev, the director of the contracting company that is building the Vostochny Cosmodrome, was aware that the company had the necessary funds but intentionally did not pay the staff for January, February and the first half of March 2015. According to the documents obtained in the investigation, the debt is now over 14 million rubles ($260,000).

Earlier reports indicate that on April 4, 26 construction workers at Russia’s new space rocket launch site (a large project that is behind schedule) went on a hunger strike. Soon after, Yury Volkodav, acting director of Dalspetsstroy, the company in charge of the Vostochny spaceport construction,  promised that the arrears would be paid by April 10.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev instructed Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin to resolve the issue. Rogozin arrived at Vostochny last Monday. During his visit, he convinced the workers to stop their hunger strike and return to work.

The Vostochny Cosmodrome is under construction near the village of Uglegorsk in the Amur River region. The first carrier rocket launch is planned for this year. The first launch of a manned spacecraft is planned for 2018. The facility is scheduled to be finished by November 30, 2015.