MOSCOW, November 18 (RAPSI) – The Central District Court of Novosibirsk granted a motion filed by investigators and placed Alexander Danilchenko, vice-governor of the Kemerovo Region, suspected of stock extortion, RIA Novosti reported on Friday.

Earlier it was reported that several top officials of the Kuznetsk Basin (Kuzbass), located in the south of western Siberia, are suspected of stock extortion of Razrez  Inskoy coal mine amounted to 1 billion rubles ($15.3 million).

Danilchenko did not admit his guilt. He will stay under house arrest under January 13. He told journalists that officials tried to regulate the situation at Razrez Inskoy coal mine. Miners refused to work because of postponed salary payments amounting to 60 million rubles ($923,000).

According to acting spokeswoman for Investigative Committee Svetlana Petrenko, a criminal case has been launched against the head of the Investigative Committee’s regional Directorate Sergey Kalinkin, vice-governors of the region Aleksey Ivanov and Alexander Danilchenko and several other officials.

Investigators claim that the suspects extorted from the major shareholder of Kuzbass coal mine company Razrez Inskoy, Anton Tsygankov, 51 percent of his shares estimated at approximately 1 billion rubles.