MOSCOW, July 19 (RAPSI) – The Moscow District Military Court has found Lieutenant General Vyacheslav Varchuk, the former commander-in-chief of the Interior Ministry’s internal troops, guilty in a criminal case over taking an especially large-scale bribe, RAPSI correspondent reports from the courtroom.

According to case documents, Varchuk was detained as part of the criminal case over a 10-million-ruble bribe ($170,000). Investigators believe that in 2015-2016 the defendant and his alleged accomplice, subordinate officer Alexander Kostin, received a bribe for assistance in additional financing communications department of the Chief Command of Interior Ministry’s internal troops.

Kostin admitted guilt, testified against the Lieutenant General and in October 2017 was sentenced to a four-year suspended term. Varchuk himself denied wrongdoing.

Prosecutors asked the court to sentence the defendant to 12 years in a high security penal colony.

Lieutenant General Vyacheslav Varchuk has acted as Finance chief of the Chief Command of the Interior Ministry’s internal troops since December 9, 2002.