Deputy Minister Anatoly Tikhonov was arrested for allegedly embezzling 600 million roubles funds.

Anatoly Tikhonov, 51, one of the eight deputies of Energy Minister Alexander Novak, is accused of misusing the public fund of 600 million roubles ($ 7.9 million), which is reserved for a technology system.

This money was "gutted" from the Russian Energy Agency from 2013 to 2015 - the time Tikhonov was in leadership.

Tikhonov is in charge of digital projects at the Russian Energy Ministry.

Several other Russian ministers, vice ministers and high-ranking officials have been arrested in recent years for corruption, after President Putin pledged to step up handling the issue.