MOSCOW, July 26 (RAPSI) – A former deputy chairman of the government of Russia’s Astrakhan Region Rasul Sultanov and the region’s finance minister Vitaly Shvedov have fallen under investigation on suspicion of abuse of office, the Investigative Committee’s press service reports.

According to investigators, material fund balance was sitting in the regional budget accounts. However, Sultanov and Shvedov, using their job position, allegedly raised loan proceeds in one of the banks worth nearly 6 billion rubles at the rate of 7 – 8.5 per cent without a real need.

Thus, they caused damage estimated at upwards of 212 million rubles to the budget of the Astrakhan Region, investigators believe.