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Prosecutors said Thursday that they had uncovered misconduct by Transportation Ministry officials that included failure to file tax returns and improper hiring policies.

The Prosecutor General's Office found the violations during checks into the ministry's Federal Air Transportation Agency, Federal Transportation Inspection Service and the Federal Sea and River Transportation Agency.

In a number of cases, officials failed to notify tax authorities on their income and property, among other things, the prosecutor's office said in a statement. Officials also violated the law by hiring staff without the appropriate level of education or experience.

Cases of misconduct by the Federal Air Transportation Agency officials "bordered on crime," the statement said, without elaborating.

In a separate statement, the prosecutor's office said it had uncovered lax oversight of aviation safety legislation in the Northwestern Federal District, which includes St. Petersburg.

A spokesman for the Prosecutor General's Office declined to elaborate Thursday. After a Pulkovo Airlines Tu-154 jet crashed in Ukraine in August, killing all 170 people aboard, government officials have intensified calls for better safety standards and prosecutors have checked airports throughout the country.

On Monday, a joint commission by the Transportation Ministry and Prosecutor General's Office will look into the issue of aviation safety, Transportation Minister Igor Levitin said this week. The officials will focus on the improper use of old spare parts on planes, he said.