MOSCOW, January 15 (RAPSI) – The Moscow City Court will begin hearing a case against head of the Investigative Committee’s Internal Security Directorate Mikhail Maksimenko, charged with taking $550,000 in bribes, on January 23, the court’s press service told RAPSI on Monday.

Earlier, detention of Maksimenko was extended until June 27.

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

The defendant has been arrested along with other high-ranking investigators, his deputy Alexander Lamonov and the First Deputy Head of the Investigative Committee’s Moscow Directorate, General Denis Nikandrov.

The three officers were 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 deny their connections to Kalashov.