MOSCOW, July 18 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko) – A criminal case against former federal senator for the Belgorod Region, Sergei Popelnyukhov, who is charged with large-scale embezzlement, has been transferred to the Lefortovsky  District Court of Moscow, the statement of the Prosecutor General’s Office reads.

Popelnyukhov is charged with embezzling 1.1 billion rubles ($17.4 million) which his company “Stroyinvestengineering Su-848” received from Venezuela for building plants for production of Kalashnikov assault rifles and auxiliary ammunition. The deal was made as a part of contract with Rosoboronexport arms trade company.

Constructors involved with building of industrial facilities reported long-time delays of salary payments. This situation attracted attention of the Federal Security Service (FSB) department responsible for security at industrial objects. Deadlines for putting facilities into use were postponed repeatedly until the end of 2015.