MOSCOW, July 7 (RIA Novosti) - A former lawmaker of regional legislature in Russia’s North Caucasus Republic of Dagestan was charged with extorting 24 million rubles (about $720,000) from a local businessman, the Russian Investigative Committee said on Saturday.
Magomed Magomedov, who previously served as a lawmaker representing the republic’s Khunzakhsky District in the regional People’s Assembly, was detained on June 27 in Makhachkala “on suspicion of organizing mass disturbances,” the committee said without elaborating. A court ruled to place him in pretrial custody on June 29.
“Investigators believe that between 2011 and 2012, Magomedov, along with Ruslan Magomedov and Sirazhudin Abakarov, was extorting 24 million rubles from a local businessman living in Makhachkala, repeatedly using force and threats,” the statement reads
Charges of extortion, laid against the former lawmaker, entail a maximum punishment of up to 15 years in prison, with confiscation of property.
