Russian governor spent thousands on car repairs 'for no reason'

Auditors have accused a provincial Russian governor of spending a fortune on repairing his luxury Mercedes, even though it has not been damaged. Saratov Region Governor Pavel Ipatov's Mercedes has been repaired six times a year over the past two years, but there was no single recorded accident involving the vehicle, Saratov region's audit chamber said in a statement. The cost of repairs carried out by local firms on the governor's vehicles, totaled 5.7 million rubles ($174,000). A service at the official Mercedes outlet in the Volga city would have cost just a fifth of that sum. "Ipatov's chauffeurs claim the damage was caused by items thrown out of ahead moving vehicles," the statement read. The Saratov government was not available for comment.