MOSCOW, June 9 (RAPSI, Nikolay Merkulov) – Colonel Magomed Khizriyev, head of the Dagestan Republic’s Interior Ministry operative department charged with corruption, has appealed his detention, attorney Aida Khasimova has said.

The colonel is charged with giving an especially large bribe. He denied wrongdoing, called his arrest a provocation, claimed that he does not know other defendants and that he did not have money to give such a large bribe.

Five other defendants in the criminal case charged with mediating the bribery were detained as well.

According to investigators, in 2017, Khizriyev transferred his accomplices $2 million as part of a bribe. The alleged accomplices said that money was designated for their help with his appointment for a higher position in one of the Interior Ministry’s regional departments. Overall, the value of the bribe reached $6 million.

It was noted that the defendant was apprehended with the assistance of the Federal Security Service’s (FSB) officers.