MOSCOW, January 20 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko) – The Moscow City Court has dismissed an appeal against a ruling to extend detention of Nikita Belykh, ex-governor of the Kirov region charged with taking a large-scale bribe, until March 24, RAPSI learnt in the court on Friday.

Belykh stands charged with taking 400,000 euros in bribes. Investigators in cooperation with the Federal Security Service’s (FSB) officers arrested him on June 24 in a Moscow restaurant while he was allegedly accepting 150,000 euros, the third part of the bribe, then Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said earlier. Moscow’s Basmanny District Court ordered the detention of Belykh.

On October 12, the Moscow City Court overturned seizure of assets owned by Belykh.

Attorney Vadim Prokhorov told RAPSI that a lower court had ordered seizure of a land plot, one third of Belykh family’s apartment and other property acquired long before the defendant’s assignment to position of governor. Therefore, items of property could not be considered as assets gained through crime.

The defendant has pleaded not guilty.

On July 28, President Vladimir Putin removed Belykh from his post of governor because of loss of trust.