Nikolayev stands accused of abuse of office and could face seven years in prison if convicted.
Vladimir Nikolayev was detained in early March in Moscow and transferred to Vladivostok where a district court ordered his arrest.
Prosecutors said that while Nikolayev was not entitled to bodyguard protection, in September 2004 he signed a contract for armed bodyguards, and in September 2005 he illegally signed a contract to protect city administration property.
Both contracts were financed from the Far Eastern city's budget and between September 28, 2004 and January 31, 2007, a total of 4,400,000 rubles ($170,000) was illegally paid out.
Prosecutors said that during his trips around the city, Nikolayev's car would be accompanied by a column of police cars, in violation of the law, and that some 600,000 rubles ($23,000) from the city budget was used to pay for the police escorts in 2006.
Nikolayev has denied all charges.
Criminal proceedings were also launched against a deputy city administration head on misappropriation charges.
