MOSCOW, October 7 - RAPSI. The Chief Military Prosecutor's Office has referred to court a criminal case against two officers of the Defense Ministry's Thirteenth Research Institute charged with embezzling $369,000, the Prosecutor General's Office reported on Friday.

"The prosecutor's inspection and the further investigation have established that the officers executed false reports on aircraft fin studies allegedly completed between April and October 2009. Pursuant to the reports, the contractor unlawfully received 12 million rubles ($369,000) from the budget," the prosecutors said.

The prosecutor's office hold that the officers were able to do so due to the lack of proper control by the relevant Air Force commanders over the funds allocated for defense orders.

The accused are also facing a lawsuit for damages.