Azernews.Az

MOSCOW – A former deputy of ex-Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov has been charged with corruption, Russian investigators said Tuesday, after the deposed leader of the Russian capital vowed to lead a new opposition movement, AFP reported.

President Dmitry Medvedev last week dramatically sacked Luzhkov, Moscow's mayor for the past 18 years, saying he had lost confidence in him, sparking a relentless campaign against the former mayor and his allies.

Another Luzhkov ally, the acting head of the city's northern administrative district, Oleg Mitvol, was sacked on Tuesday, while Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin accused the former mayor of violating the law.

Alexander Ryabinin, Luzhkov's former deputy, has been charged with corruption, a spokeswoman for Russian investigators said.

The charge is a culmination of a protracted probe into the activities of the close Luzhkov ally long seen as an attempt to weaken the outspoken city chief.

Ryabinin, sacked late last month, has been charged with receiving a bribe, the official told AFP.

"An investigation directed at strengthening proof of Ryabin's guilt in the committed crime is currently under way," she said. "The investigation of the criminal case continues," she added, declining to give further details.

In a separate move, Mitvol, another Luzhkov ally had been sacked from the post of the head of the city's northern administrative district, Mitvol's wife Lyudmila said.

She said her husband had been let go while on sick leave. "I do not understand what is going on," she told AFP.

Mitvol did not answer his phone on Tuesday afternoon and his spokeswoman declined comment.

The mayor's sacking came after a convoluted tug-of-war between the Kremlin and Luzhkov who had chosen to openly challenge Medvedev in a largely unprecedented move.

In an exclusive interview with the opposition magazine The New Times published on Monday, Luzhkov said he planned to lead a new political movement to help transform Russia into a democratic country.

He said he was not afraid of possible recriminations because he had been an honest mayor but was fully aware that authorities may slap criminal charges against him or his billionaire wife Yelena Baturina.

Luzhkov's defiance has raised eyebrows in Russia, with some commentators saying that if he doesn't tone down his rhetoric he may repeat the fate of fallen tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Khodorkovsky was jailed in 2005 on charges of fraud and tax evasion that his supporters argue were trumped up to punish the tycoon for daring to finance opposition parties.

Observers say the Kremlin has sacked Luzhkov for his alleged attempts to drive a wedge between Medvedev and his mentor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ahead of parliamentary elections next year and presidential polls in 2012.

Kudrin, the country's powerful finance minister and a long time opponent of Luzhkov, said on Tuesday the former mayor had repeatedly violated existing laws.

"A quarter of all the decisions by the Moscow government were signed in a secret or closed regime and were never published, in violation of the legislation," Kudrin told an economic forum in televised remarks.