MOSCOW, December 29 (RAPSI) – The Investigative Committee believes that Ruslan Mukhudinov was not only an organizer of Nemtsov’s murder, but that he is also the one who initiated the crime and hired the hitmen, according to a statement made by Committee on Tuesday.

In December Mukhudinov, a former Chechen Interior Ministry officer, was officially charged with murder and arms traffic. He was put on the federal wanted list and on the international wanted list. According to police, he fled abroad using a fake passport.

The Committee expects to end the investigation in the case in January 2016.

Nemtsov was murdered in central Moscow on the night of February 28. In the 1990s, the politician held a number of high-ranking posts in the Russian Government. In the 2000s, he joined the opposition.

Five suspects were detained in the case, including the alleged murderer Zaur Dadayev, brothers Anzor and Shadid Gubashev, and Khamzat Bakhayev who, according to investigators, provided his accomplices with information and then hid them after the murder. The fifth suspect, Temerlan Eskerkhanov is said to have monitored Nemtsov’s whereabouts. Investigators have not revealed the suspected role of the Gubashev brothers in the crime.

Dadayev initially testified against himself and the other suspects, but later retracted his testimony in court.