Court arrests head of Buryatia's Agriculture Ministry detained for corruption

Sovetsky District Court of Ulan-Ude ordered the arrest of Deputy Chairman of the Government of Buryatia, Minister of Agriculture and Food Galsan Dareev, detained for corruption, until February 26. The Dec. 27 decision was supported by the republic's prosecutor's office.

"He is charged under paragraph "e" of part 3 of article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Exceeding of official powers by a person holding a public position of the subject of the Russian Federation, out of selfish and other personal interest")", - stated on the website of the agency.

The investigation found that in the summer of 2022 Dareev instructed a subordinate to collect money allegedly for the needs of the Ministry from two agricultural producers.

"He justified his demand by the earlier support of these enterprises. The employee in fulfillment of the instruction received from the representatives of these enterprises money, which was subsequently spent on the personal needs of Dareev and the needs of the ministry headed by him," the press service of the court said in a statement.

On December 26, a source of "Izvestia" informed about Dareev's detention on suspicion of abuse of power. The interlocutor noted that law enforcers conducted searches at the residence and workplace of the head. In the government of the region "Izvestiya" confirmed the fact of the minister's detention and investigative actions. The Ministry of Agriculture of the republic refused to comment on the information.