Putin suggests sacking Russia’s top prosecutor

Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested dismissing Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika and nominated Deputy Head of the Investigative Committee Igor Krasnov as a candidate for the post, the presidential press service said on Monday.

"Vladimir Putin submitted for consideration by the Federation Council the candidacy of Deputy Head of the Investigative Committee Igor Krasnov for the post of the Russian Prosecutor General and a proposal to dismiss Yuri Chaika from this position due to his transfer to other work," the press service said.

Chaika, 68, has served as Russia’s top prosecutor since 2006.

Krasnov, 44, was in charge of the Main Department for investigating particularly important cases and the Main Investigative Department. He has worked for prosecution bodies since 1997. Since 2007, Krasnov started working as a senior investigator in the newly-formed Investigative Committee and was appointed as the deputy head of the IC in April 2016. Krasnov investigated such cases as a plot to kill Russian politician and businessman Anatoly Chubais, and the murders of opposition figure Boris Nemtsov, lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova as well as embezzlement during Vostochny spaceport’s construction.