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MINSK, May 25 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's top justice official said Thursday that new high-profile anti-corruption criminal cases could be launched in the near future.
Vladimir Ustinov said the Prosecutor General's Office was focusing on the fight against corruption, which remains a key problem facing Russia and was highlighted by President Vladimir Putin in his state of the nation address May 10.
Putin said in his speech that anti-corruption efforts would be intensified, and investigators said Thursday that they had started 20 investigations into the economics ministry and customs services. One case concerns the issue of licenses for meat imports that cost the state 27 million euros ($35 million), investigators said.
Following his address, Putin fired a number of senior security officers from the Federal Security Service (FSB), and Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov dismissed high-ranking officials from the Federal Customs Service as investigators launched a major probe into corruption.
The latest high-profile case hit the headlines Tuesday, as Alexei Barinov, governor of the mineral-rich Nenets Autonomous Area in Russia's far north, was arrested May 23. Barinov and his aides are suspected of involvement in fraudulent activities to the tune of 19 million rubles ($700,000).
