Police have detained a former director of the Federal Property Management Agency for the Moscow region on suspicion of involvement in the embezzlement of state property worth more than 10 billion rubles (about $300 million), the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday, Dec 25, without naming the suspect.

According to RIA Novosti, the case involves the illegal seizure and sell-off of over 100 state-owned real estate properties.

Other suspects in the case include bank officials, arbitration court representatives, state property managers, and commercial company representatives.

The criminals used a sophisticated multistage scheme to take control of a state firm, bring in its own managers, bankrupt the company, take it over and then sell it, the ministry said.