MOSCOW, September 20 (RAPSI) – Legal defense of Dmitriy Zakharchenko, Russian anti-corruption official, who is suspected of obtaining 8.5 billion rubles ($130 million) by criminal means, has appealed launch of a criminal case against him, RIA Novosti reported on Tuesday.

Zakharchenko is temporarily in charge of a subdivision of the Russian Interior Ministry’s anti-corruption department. He was charged with abuse of office, hindering the conduct of preliminary investigation and large-scale bribery.

On September 10, the Presnensky District Court of Moscow detained Zakharchenko until November 8 as a part of a large corruption case. Zakharchenko’s lawyers appealed against this ruling. The officer denies any connection to the seized funds.

As yet, officially Zakharchenko stands charged with receiving 7 million rubles ($107,600) bribe from an unknown source. According to investigators, money was transferred at the end of December 2015.