Lieutenant General Vladimir Ganeyev, chief of security with the Emergency Situations Ministry, was detained in a high-profile operation in 2003 and charged with organizing a criminal group, abuse of office and falsifying investigation documents over a period of six years.
"According to investigation, the members of this criminal group for several years up until they were arrested extorted large sums of money from heads of various commercial enterprises, threatening them with the use of physical force, illegal prosecution and creation of obstacles for their business activities," the prosecutors said at the time of the arrest.
Investigators said Ganeyev and his accomplices - officers from the Moscow Police Department - formed a criminal group in 1997 to extort funds from businessmen and later use the money to buy real estate in Russia and overseas, as well as personal cars.
"Police seized $3 million alone when bank deposit boxes rented on behalf of the suspects were searched," the Prosecutor General's Office said.
Defense lawyers said Wednesday they intended to ask the court to throw the charges out because the statue of limitations had already expired, but would make their opening statement on June 15, which they expected to take about four days.
