MOSCOW, July 26 (RAPSI) – The Moscow City Court has sentenced Alexander Lamonov, a former high-ranking investigator, to 5 years in a high security penal colony for receiving a large-scale bribe, RAPSI correspondent reports from the courtroom.

The defendant was also fined 32 million rubles ($508,000) and lost his rank.

The trial against Lamonov was held behind closed doors due to secret information contained in the criminal case documents. The case was reviewed under a special procedure because the defendant admitted wrongdoing and made a deal with investigators.

Lamonov, ex-First Deputy Head of the Investigative Committee’s Moscow Directorate, General Denis Nikandrov and ex-chief of the Investigative Committee’s Internal Security Directorate Mikhail Maksimenko have been arrested and detained as part of a case over extortion of 8 million rubles (about $138,000 at the current exchange rate) that involved an alleged gang leader Zakhariy Kalashov. In addition, investigators believe that they extorted 10 million rubles (about $170,000) from a head of a large joint-stock company. The defendants denied their communications with Kalashov.

On April 20, Maksimenko was found guilty of taking two bribes and received 13 years in prison. The defendant was also fined 165 million rubles ($2.8 million).

According to prosecutors, in 2016, Maksimenko and his accomplice received $500,000 bribe for help with one of criminal cases. He was also charged with taking $50,000 bribe in 2015 for organizing unlawful criminal prosecution of law enforcement officers in the interests of a a bribe-giver.

The preliminary hearings in case of Nikandrov are scheduled for July 26 as well.