MOSCOW, September 16 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko) – Vlad Novikov, a former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) had said the criminal case against him and Karen Krayukhin, an officer still in FSB service, was a provocation, RAPSI was told by a representative of the Moscow Garrison Military Court on Friday.

Two men were arrested in a fraud case on suspicion of receiving a bribe from the Turkish construction firm Esta Construction. Investigators claim that Esta Construction has been fined over 37 million rubles ($570,000) for violation of migration legislation. The company’s lawyer in order to avoid payment of the fine asked the suspects for help in the termination of the case for 5 million rubles ($77,000).

The case resulted from a provocation on the part of the alleged victim, who embezzled the money and now tries to deflect the blame on the defendants, Novikov said when being convoyed to the courtroom where the decisions on the detention of the suspects were to be taken.

Esta Construction is a contracting company established by Bahattin Demirbilek in Moscow in 2006 and operating as a general contractor and project designer in international construction market, the firm’s website says.