MOSCOW, May 27 (RAPSI) – Moscow’s Presnensky District Court on Wednesday extended until July 31 the detention of former head of Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) Alexander Reimer who stands accused of embezzling 3 billion rubles (about $60 million) allocated for the purchase of electronic monitoring bracelets, RAPSI reports from the courtroom.

The defense of Reimer also asked the court to hold the trial behind closed doors because of disclosure of the suspect’s medical data but Judge Tatyana Vasyuchenko rejected the motion.
Earlier, the court seized 15 million rubles ($298,000) in assets belonging to Reimer.

Charges have been brought against Reimer, his former deputy Nikolai Krivolapov, director of FSIN’s Information and Technical Support Center Viktor Opredelyonov, and the director of a private company Nikolai Martynov.

Investigators claim that Reimer and Krivolapov personally approved the purchase of the electronic bracelets at vastly inflated prices.

The probe into the case was opened after two FSIN employees were detained on suspicion of extorting $2.6 million from a businessman in connection with the purchase of the bracelets.
Reimer, Martynov and Opredelyonov were put in jail. Krivolapov was placed under house arrest.

The house arrest of Krivolapov on Thursday was extended until July 31.

Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin earlier said investigators are working to establish other possible suspects in this crime.

Alexander Reimer, 57, was chief of the Interior Ministry Department in the Samara Region from April 2006 to 2009. In August 2009, he was appointed FSIN director and in 2010 promoted to the rank of Colonel-General of the Interior. He was dismissed from FSIN on June 26, 2012.