Russia's top military medical officer has been arrested after being caught red-handed accepting a hefty bribe, officials said.

Maj. Gen. Yury Sabanin, head of the medical military command of Russia's interior troops, was held in hospital after he locked himself up in the lavatory and attempted to throw a briefcase containing 2.5 million rubles ($77,000) out of the window, investigators said.

He feigned a cardiac arrest before being dragged away by police, Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told RIA Novosti.

Sabanin had previously received another 1 million rubles ($30,700) in bribes, Markin said.

He may face a lengthy jail term if convicted.