Senior Russian National Guard Official Arrested On Extortion Charge

A top official with Russia’s National Guard has been arrested for allegedly extorting a “protection” bribe from a businessman in the Moscow region.

A court in the city of Istra near the Russian capital said on April 16 that it had sent Colonel Albert Kudryashov, deputy chief of the National Guard’s intelligence center, to pretrial detention for at least two months while an investigation continues.

Kudryashov and another unidentified person were detained earlier that day, it added.

Media reports quoted sources in law enforcement as saying that the two men were suspected of extorting significant amounts of cash from a local businessman in exchange for “protection.”

No further details of the case have been made public.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax