Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny arrives at an unauthorized rally in Lubyanka Square in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012. Thousands of opposition supporters gathered Saturday in central Moscow for an unauthorized rally to mark a year of a wave of massive protests against Vladimir Putin and the government. Several prominent opposition figures were detained in the course of the gathering, which was not sanctioned by authorities. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny arrives at an unauthorized rally in Lubyanka Square in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012. Thousands of opposition supporters gathered Saturday in central Moscow for an unauthorized rally to mark a year of a wave of massive protests against Vladimir Putin and the government. Several prominent opposition figures were detained in the course of the gathering, which was not sanctioned by authorities. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)
FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012 file photo police officers detain opposition leader Alexei Navalny during an unauthorized rally in Lubyanka Square in Moscow. Navalny, who helped organized the largest anti-Kremlin rallies in Russia's post-Soviet history, was charged with fraud and money-laundering Thursday. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)
MOSCOW (AP) ? A prominent Russian opposition leader faces his third investigation in five months as authorities intensify pressure on the opposition.
The Investigative Committee said in a statement on Monday that they launched a new probe against Alexei Navalny, who was already charged with theft and with fraud and money laundering in two separate cases.
Investigators now say they also suspect Navalny of defrauding the Union of the Right Forces, a now defunct liberal party, of 100 million rubles ($3.2 million) in 2007.
Navalny, a charismatic 36-year-old lawyer, made his name exposing corruption in state-controlled companies. Last winter, he spearheaded a series of street rallies in Moscow that drew up to 100,000 people before March's vote that handed Putin a third presidential term.
In July, the lawyer was charged with the theft of half a million dollars from a state-owned timber company. Earlier this month, Navalny and his brother were charged with defrauding a transportation company of about $1.8 million.
The opposition leader dismissed the accusations as politically motivated, and pointed to the fact that there was no injured party in either of the cases.
Leonid Gozman, a former senior figure at the Union of the Right Forces, was quoted by the Interfax news agency, as denying reports of fraud at his party.
"This is another provocation, total nonsense," he said.
Navalny tweeted "that's enough," referring to the slew of criminal cases against him.
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