vlad.tribnet.com / Issue #563 / Crime watch / Reading article...

Vladivostok Mayor Vladimir Nikolayev, who was arrested early March facing charges of embezzlement and abuse of office, was convoyed to the isolation ward in the city of Khabarovsk from Vladivostok on Wednesday, prosecutors said.

The criminal charges against Nikolayev are being investigated by Russia’s General Prosecutor’s Office and its headquarters for the Far Eastern territory are located in Khabarovsk, Primorye Television cited Irina Nomokonova, a senior aide to Primorye prosecutor, as saying. No other comments were available from Nomokonova.

Nikolayev was put under arrest by the court’s ruling on March 7 in Vladivostok, a day after he was detained in Moscow by federal law enforcement bodies.

Prosecutors are investigating Nikolayev for allegedly giving land to unknown individuals for private purposes. Besides, he is accused of misspending the city’s funds on personal security guards and private flights. Nikolayev denied all allegations.

Nikolayev was elected Vladivostok mayor in 2004 and his previous criminal record did not bother officials. Nikolayev, who was allegedly known in criminal circles under the nickname ‘Winnie the Pooh’, was arrested in 1998 and faced charges for violent threats, hooliganism and extortion. He was freed a year later after being given amnesty.