MOSCOW, April 3 (RAPSI) – A criminal case has been opened against vice-governor of the Kirov Region Andrey Plitko suspected of receiving  bribes, according to a statement of the Investigative Committee.

He has been arrested when receiving a bribe part in the amount of 3.4 million rubles ($44,300) from the regional forestry minister Alexey Shurgin, the statement reads.

According to investigators, in 2018, Plitko using his job position created and organized criminal group to take bribes from businessmen and legal entitites of the Kirov Region for signing timber sale and purchase contracts with the company Kirovgosleskhoz.