MOSCOW, April 19 (RAPSI) - A criminal case against deputy education minister of Russia’s Republic of Dagestan, who stands charged with embezzling 97 million rubles ($1.6 million), has been forwarded to the Gagarinsky District Court of Moscow for hearing, the Prosecutor General’s Office’s press service reports Thursday.

Another defendant in this case is a top manager of the company Management Tools. Depending on their role in crimes they are charged with large scale embezzlement and money laundering.

According to prosecutors, the official and the businessman executed a state contract on supply of digital complexes to Dagestan education institutions in 2003. They allegedly embezzled over 97 million rubles by overpricing the equipment.

Reportedly, the defendant is Khadzhimurad Aliyev, who took up the post of deputy education minister in 2013.