Head of Dagestan's disability determination bureau detained - source
MAKHACHKALA. Aug 2 (Interfax) - Officers of special services have detained the director of the central disability determination bureau of Dagestan in Russia's North Caucasus, Magomed Makhachev, who has been declared internationally wanted as part of a criminal case opened on charges of bribe-taking, forgery and fraud, an informed source told Interfax.
"Makhachev was detained in the city of Grozny at 2:00 a.m. on Thursday," the source said.
It was reported that a criminal case was opened against Makhachev on several counts. In particular, he is suspected of setting up a criminal community that elicited bribes from local residents in exchange for illegally approving their disability claims.
According to the source, those bribes stood at billions of rubles, of which tens of millions of rubles have already been tracked down. Some of this money was found on cards belonging to Makhachev's wife and also his mistress.
"The information available indicates that there are also dozens of other bank cards on which billions of rubles obtained by the same illegal method are kept," the source said.
Makhachev tried to hide from investigators and was placed on the international wanted list.
Several members of Makhachev's criminal group, including three of his deputies and the bureau's chief accountant, were arrested. Makhachev's brother, Ashik Makhachev, who once headed the territorial division of Dagestan's disability determination bureau, was placed under house arrest.