Andrey Karpov, the uncle of Denis Allayarov, editor-in-chief of Sverdlovsk URA.RU, has been placed under house arrest for two months. The Leninsky District Court of Yekaterinburg issued the order on June 6.

Karpov is accused of abuse of power and accepting a bribe from his nephew.

According to the investigation, Denis Allayarov allegedly gave his uncle 20,000 rubles. URA.RU reports that Denis Allayarov denies the bribery allegations.

The news agency also stated that extensive searches of the editorial office and employees’ homes yielded no evidence of the alleged bribe transfer. URA.RU suggests the information is unreliable.

The court will soon determine Denis Allayarov’s pre-trial restriction. He could face up to eight years in prison if convicted of bribery.

URA.RU believes Allayarov is a victim of slander by his uncle, who may be trying to lessen his own sentence in a separate case. The news agency also alleges that law enforcement agencies exploited the situation.

The URA.RU editorial board issued a statement asserting that investigators disrupted the work of their head office. They maintain that there was no improper financing of doctors or other irregularities.