The commander of Russia’s famed Strizhi (Swifts) aerobatics team is suspected of illegally selling team emblems, the Lifenews.ru portal reported on Tuesday.
Valery Morozov is believed to have forced a Moscow region businessman to pay him 5,000 rubles (about $160) a month for the right to use the team logo on t-shirts and other items he sold.
Morozov was nabbed in a police sting operation as he received an envelop containing 35,000 rubles to repay the debt the businessman had run up during a vacation.
Morozov is facing fraud and abuse of office charges, a law enforcement source said.
Air Force spokesman Vladimir Drik declined to comment on the issue until a decision was formally announced.
“I know about that but so far have no right to comment,” he told the portal.