MOSCOW, November 28 (RIA Novosti) – Russian investigators opened a criminal case Thursday into former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who is suspected of causing 56 million rubles ($1.7 million) worth of damage to the state.
This is the first time that a criminal case has been opened against Serdyukov, who was fired by President Vladimir Putin a year ago amid allegations of high level corruption.
During his tenure as minister, Serdyukov ordered his subordinates to use serving soldiers to build a road to an elite holiday resort in southern Russia, the Investigative Committee said in a statement.
“Instead of serving [their country] and studying military science, one set of soldiers were planting poplars in the Astrakahan steppe,” the Investigative Committee said on its website.
Investigators said Serdyukov is suspected of negligence, which under Russia’s criminal code carries a maximum punishment of three months in prison.
The former minister has been questioned as a witness in several criminal cases since he left office.
Most of these cases have focused on the activities of Oboronservis, a Defense Ministry company that repairs and maintains military property and equipment.
Links to the Oboronservis affair were the official reason given for Serdyukov’s sacking in 2012.
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