Starovoit, who committed suicide, could have been involved in the theft of a large sum

The former Minister of Transport of Russia and the former governor of the Kursk region Roman Starovoit, who committed suicide, was probably involved in the theft of a billion rubles allocated for the construction of protective structures in the Kursk region.

"The detention of the ex-governor of the Kursk region Alexei Smirnov could sooner or later hit Starovoit, because the construction of protective structures began with him," RBC reported, citing its own source.

Starovoit could face up to 20 years in prison in a criminal case under part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code (fraud) and part 4 of Article 160 (embezzlement). His former deputy Smirnov said that he acted, among other things, on the instructions of Starovoit.

Smirnov is currently in custody on charges of fraud in the amount of about one billion rubles during the construction of fortifications in the Kursk region.