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French police have taken in for questioning a former Russian minister over graft allegations, sources close to the case said Saturday.
Alexei Kuznetsov, who was finance minister for the region of Moscow, is sought over allegations of fraud, money laundering and embezzlement of funds, according to a statement issued by the Russian interior ministry on Saturday.
He is suspected of having siphonned off over 3.5 billion rubles (82 million euros) from the region’s budget.
Kuznetsov also possessed several fake passports, said the statement.
Quoted by Russian news agency Interfax, the country’s attorney-general said he would file an extradition request for the former official, who has been on the run since 2008.