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Moscow Police General, Fuel Executives Arrested in Alleged Embezzlement Scheme

By  |  September 7, 2026
Russia

Russian authorities have arrested a senior Moscow region police official and executives from a major fuel retailer over an alleged scheme to divert gasoline intended for law-enforcement vehicles, according to The Moscow Times.

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    Major General Sergei Malkov, deputy head of the Moscow region branch of the Interior Ministry with responsibility for logistics, is accused of helping oversee the operation alongside Igor Martyshov, chairman of fuel retailer EuroTrans, The Moscow Times reported on Sept. 7.

    Two other police officials — Colonel Alexei Suyarov and Lieutenant Colonel Anna Levina — were also arrested and subsequently dismissed from the Interior Ministry, according to the report. Investigators have asked a court to order their detention while the case proceeds.

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    Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk said three additional EuroTrans executives have already been placed in pre-trial detention, The Moscow Times reported. Seven people in total face allegations of large-scale embezzlement, an offense that can carry a prison term of as long as 10 years under Russian law.

    The case links a senior law-enforcement official with a prominent operator in Moscow’s retail fuel market at a time when Russia has been grappling with pressure on gasoline supplies.

    EuroTrans operates 57 filling stations in Moscow and the surrounding region, according to The Moscow Times. The company had already attracted regulatory scrutiny before the arrests. In June, Russian antitrust authorities demanded that EuroTrans and another fuel retailer explain gasoline and diesel price increases and provide economic justification for the changes. The inquiry followed disruptions associated with Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refining infrastructure.

    The latest arrests had an immediate impact on the company’s publicly traded shares. EuroTrans fell 6% on the Moscow Exchange following news of the investigation, The Moscow Times reported, citing Interfax.

    Russia’s fuel market has faced mounting strain after repeated attacks on refining facilities. By late August, domestic gasoline production had fallen to roughly 70% of the country’s consumption needs.

    The allegations against the police officials and EuroTrans executives center on fuel that authorities say was supposed to be used by police vehicles but was instead stolen through the purported scheme.

    Source: The Moscow Times