Konstantin Bochkaryov, a deputy governor of the Chelyabinsk Region, allegedly used budget funds on behalf of the governor to buy art worth about 180 million rubles ($6.7 mln) from a Moscow-based supplier to decorate a regional administration building. An expert committee evaluated the price of the art collection at only 68 million rubles ($2.5 mln).
Prosecutors asked the Chelyabinsk Central Court to sanction Bochkaryov's arrest, but the court opted to bind him over until the trial.
The case comes against the backdrop of a pledge made by President Vladimir Putin to tackle corruption in his May 10 state of the nation address and a court ruling Wednesday sanctioning the arrest of a governor in Russia's extreme north on fraud charges.
Putin said that corruption remained a major barrier in the way of Russia's economic prosperity and that the government must fight all attempts by state bodies and business to profit personally at the expense of the common good.
Russia's chief prosecutor also said Thursday that new high-profile anti-corruption cases could be opened in the near future.
