MOSCOW, March 22 (RAPSI, Nikolay Merkulov) – Moscow’s Basmanny District Court on Thursday refused to release First Deputy Director of the Federal Customs Service’s Far Eastern Directorate Sergey Fedorov charged with taking bribes on a 5-million-ruble bail (about $88,000), RAPSI reports from the courtroom.

The court granted the investigators’ motion and put Fedorov in detention until May 19.

Fedorov pleaded not guilty. His defense lawyers claim that the case is based on slander.

According to investigators, from December 2015 to October 2017, Fedorov received at least 26 million rubles ($451,500) and $150,000 in bribes from businessman Rodion Tikhonov for protection of his company’s business. The suspect provided full assistance in the organization of the Far Eastern Customs Directorate’s work towards Tikhonov’s Dalzavod-Terminal CJSC and helped in settling all problematic issues with the customs body.

Businessman Tikhonov was earlier charged with organizing a gang and evasion of customs payments. He was put in detention, the Investigative Committee said.