Kirov Oblast Governor Nikita Belykh, one of the last remaining liberal politicians appointed during Dmitry Medvedev's presidency, has been detained by federal police in a sting operation, after Belykh allegedly accepted a bribe of 400,000 euros (about $445,000).
According to the news agency Interfax, Belykh was detained during the exchange of the second half of the money, having received the first installment of the bribe through an intermediary.
Governor Belykh's official representatives have not issued a formal statement at the time of this writing.
If convicted of accepting such a large bribe, Belykh faces between eight and 15 years in prison. He has been governor in Kirov since 2009. For years before accepting this post, Belykh led the opposition political party The Union of Right Forces (SPS), which was cofounded by former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated in February 2015.