The court approved the application of the district prosecutor to have Mr Voronov arrested. He is suspected of having violated public procurement procedures with the aim of giving an advantage to a bidder, having accepted a bribe, and also of repeatedly soliciting bribes on a large scale.

The Central Criminal Police detained Mr Voronov, who is a member of the Narva city council, on Wednesday morning. The chairman of the supervisory board of utility company AS Narva Vesi, Vladimir Mizui, was detained also. Mr Mizui is also involved in the procurement procedure violations in question, the Baltic News Service reported.

The list of suspects in the still ongoing investigation includes another six people, all of them officials suspected of having accepted bribes. Potential charges involve procurement procedure violations, bribery, arranging bribes, forging documents, and using forged documents.

In detail, suspicions brought against Mr Voronov include the abuse of his positions on the city council as well as on the supervisory board of AS Narva Vesi. Mr Voronov allegedly gave preference to contractors he was familiar with, manipulating public tenders in their favour.

His activities included obtaining permits and backing projects, in return for which he received almost €60,000.

According to the Viru district prosecutor's office, the currently eight suspects might not be alone for long, and other names may be added.