MOSCOW, December 3 - RAPSI. The Moscow Tverskoy District Court has ordered the arrest of three more individuals suspected of embezzling three billion rubles from the St. Petersburg budget.

According to current information, officials of the Committee for Energy and Engineering, the Customer Department for Construction and Capital Repairs of Engineering and Power Complex and a number of directors of St. Petersburg's commercial enterprises were involved in the embezzlement.

According to the ministry, 18 million rubles ($584,206), $100,000 and 100,000 euros were found and seized at the apartment of the first suspect, Vladislav Petrov.

Certificates of ownership with regard to apartments in the city's elite districts, countryside real estate and land plots were seized during the searches as well.

It was revealed that the corruption scheme included the supply and installment of pipes without corresponding to state standards and that the work was carried out by firms belonging to members of an organized group which used fake certificates of quality for their manufacturing plants. The information obtained shows that 600 kilometers of low-quality pipes were used.

The criminal case has been initiated under charges of fraud, which is punishable by up to ten years in prison.