MOSCOW, May 11 (UPI) -- Russian authorities have reopened a fraud investigation into a blogger who has angered many powerful institutions with a WikiLeaks-style Web site.
Alexei Navalny served as an unpaid adviser to Nikita Belykh, the governor of Kirov, in 2009. The Investigative Committee says he may have used that position to defraud Kirovles, a timber company now owned by the state, The Moscow Times reported.
While the committee says his actions cost the company about $46,000, the charge it is considering is "inflicting harm with no intent of embezzlement."
Navalny says the charges are untrue, put up by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party and state-owned monopoly companies.
Maria Gaidar, deputy governor of Kirov and a blogger and critic of Putin, supported Navalny. She called the charges "complete nonsense" Wednesday.
"It is unclear why Navalny would want to lead Kirovles into illegal activities and what the nature of those activities was," she said.
