Factbox: Russia's criminal cases, accusations against Kremlin critic Navalny

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has been taken into custody for 30 days pending further court hearings after returning from Germany and could face years in jail.

Here are some of Russia's investigations and pending criminal cases against the prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, who was airlifted to Germany in August after being poisoned:

Embezzlement case from 2014

Navalny was put on a wanted list in late December for allegedly violating the terms of a suspended prison sentence he received in 2014 in an embezzlement case that he says was trumped up.

The prison service accuses Navalny of failing to report to it late last year as part of that sentence, a violation that could mean he can be jailed for 3.5 years, according to his lawyer.

Money laundering

Investigators opened a probe in August 2019 into suspected money laundering by Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, which investigates official corruption.

As part of the case, authorities froze a slew of bank accounts linked to Navalny, whose allies accused the authorities of trying to cripple his political movement. Individuals found guilty under such charges can face up to seven years in jail.

Misspending donations

Russia opened a criminal case against Navalny in late December for suspected large-scale fraud.

Investigators accuse him of spending more than 356 million roubles ($4.8 million) of donations made to his organisations for private purposes such as taking vacations abroad. If found guilty, he could face up to 10 years in jail.

Slandering a war veteran

Russia opened a criminal investigation against Navalny in June last year for the suspected slander of a Russian World War Two veteran.

The veteran had taken part in a promotional video clip in which Russians expressed support for last year's sweeping constitutional reforms, which allow Putin to potentially extend his rule until 2036.

In a social media post, Navalny described the people in the video as traitors without a conscience and corrupt lackeys. ($1 = 74.1825 roubles)

(Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; editing by Philippa Fletcher)