The criminal proceedings have opened against Sergei Zivenko the former general director of the state’s vodka and spirit monopoly, Rosspirtprom, according to a report in The Moscow Times. Zivenko stands accused of abusing his authority.

Pyotr Myasoyedov, a former officer in the St Petersburg tax police, replaced Zivenko as head of Rosspirtprom in July 2002.

Criminal proceedings have followed an investigation by Russia’s Audit Chamber into the effectiveness with which the state-controlled company had been managed. Zivenko is also being investigated for alleged asset stripping, the Audit Chamber was reported as saying.

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