According to Fontanka, Artem Novikov is suspected of a large scale fraud. Novikov, who heads the Ministry’s Department of Investment, Restoration and Construction, was arrested by operatives of the Economic Security Service and the Service for Fight against Terrorism of the FSB in the department’s building. According to the news agency, a criminal case upon a large scale fraud was initiated against the official.
At present, Novikov has been detained for 48 hours, however, on March 29, investigators intend to apply for an order from a court granting arrest of the official. The detention is allegedly related to a high-profile “case of restorers”.