Dmitry Dovgy, who led a series of high-profile probes, was dismissed in late April allegedly for divulging confidential information and negligently carrying out his duties. He was remanded in custody for 48 hours on Tuesday accused of accepting a $1 million bribe.
Earlier Wednesday the court ruled there was sufficient evidence for a criminal case against Dovgy. "Today the court ruled Dovgy's actions showed signs of criminal intent," Anna Usacheva said.
The court has also ordered the arrest of another suspect in the Dovgy bribery case, Andrei Sagura, the former head of the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office.
Dovgy denied the allegations ahead of the court hearing on Wednesday: "I maintained, and maintain that I have received no bribes. The person who has accused me of the crime is himself under investigation. Perhaps, he did a deal with the investigation committee."
Dovgy's lawyer, Yury Bagrayev, said he would appeal the court's decision. "We will definitely appeal the decision by Moscow's Basmanny Court. The court took none of our arguments into consideration, the law in regard to Dovgy has been cruelly and unpardonably breached," the lawyer said.
Alexander Bastrykin, the chairman of the Investigation Committee at the Russian Prosecutor General's Office, personally asked the court to initiate criminal proceedings against Dovgy.
Dovgy led investigations against Sergei Storchak, the former deputy finance minister, and General Alexander Bulbov, a former senior drug control official, both in custody accused of embezzling $43 million in state funds, divulging state secrets and illegal phone tapping, respectively.
It has also been alleged that Dovgy accepted 2 million euros ($3 million) in exchange for the release of former Trust Bank chairman Oleg Kolyda in an embezzlement case involving Yukos subsidiary Tomskneft.
Over a thousand bribery investigations were launched in the first three months of this year, a record figure for Russia. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has made the fight against corruption one of his top priorities, signing a decree to set up a presidential anti-corruption council just two weeks after his inauguration.
