MOSCOW, August 18 (RIA Novosti) - The activities of a group of construction officials in the Moscow city administration have been stopped amid suspicions they took 8 billion rubles ($250 million) in bribes, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.
"The activity of an organized group that specialized in extortion and taking bribes from representatives of commercial businesses taking part in tenders to fulfill state orders has been stopped," the ministry's Economic Security Department said in a statement.
"From May 2008 to May 2009, the group was able to illegally receive and cash through criminal channels about 8 billion rubles," the statement added.
The leader of the group was caught taking 2 million rubles in a sting operation. A criminal case has been opened into fraud.
