MOSCOW, July 2 - RAPSI. The Moscow District Military Court has validated the arrest of Interior Troops Chief Physician Yury Sabanin on bribery charges, the court spokesperson told the Russian Legal Information Agency on Monday.

The Moscow Garrison Military Court arrested Sabanin on June 22.

He was earlier detained on suspicion of receiving a $106,365 bribe.

Judge Alexey Ilyin satisfied the investigators' appeal, placing Sabanin in custody for two months.

Sabanin has been accused of the most serious form of bribery, he said, which carries a maximum punishment of 15 years in prison and a fine equal to 70 times the bribe amount.

According to the investigators, a businessman whose company traded in medical equipment won the bidding for mobile hospital supplies for the Interior Troops in 2010.

After the bidding, Sabanin requested a 3.5 percent share of the 100 million ruble transaction for protection and the prospects of winning further government contracts.

Sabanin was detained in a hospital as he accepted the bribe.

It has been reported that he attempted to get rid of the money by throwing it out a restroom window. He then simulated a heart attack, but the ambulance team did not confirm his diagnosis.

A similar case against former Chief Military Physician Alexander Belevitin and his deputy Alexei Nikitin is being reviewed by the court.

Investigators maintain that Belevitin and Nikitin accepted 7 million rubles ($238,000) in bribes to act as intermediaries in signing medical equipment supply contracts for the Defense Ministry worth over 187 million rubles ($5.75 million).

It is estimated that the equipment was purchased at inflated prices and inflicted over 51 million rubles ($1.6 million) in losses on the government.
Sabanin will remain in custody until August 20.