Russian Company CEOs Arrested in Glonass Embezzlement Case

The previous and current general directors of high-tech company Synertech have been arrested on suspicion of embezzling funds from the federal program for the Glonass satellite navigation system, the Interior Ministry's Moscow Department said on Friday. The current chief executive officer was taken into custody, and the former CEO was placed under house arrest after Moscow’s Tverskoi District Court granted the investigators' warrant request on May 16, the same day that Moscow police reported another major embezzlement from Glonass, saying that Synertech management has stolen at least 85 million rubles ($2.7 million) “supposedly as payment” for conducting a research project. Synertech is a joint venture between Russian Space Systems with two European companies: EADS Astrium and Tesat Spacecom. It was set up in 2005 to promote the mutually beneficial cooperation of space industry enterprises in the creation and use of innovation technology for the manufacturing of space equipment. The Interior Ministry earlier reported the embezzlement of over 565 million rubles ($18 million) of federal budget funds allocated for the Glonass program, and initiated criminal proceedings. The ministry suspected Russian Space Systems’ management of concluding research contracts with commercial organizations that had neither the equipment nor the qualified personnel to implement the stipulated work. GLONASS, Russia’s GPS counterpart The commercial companies involved are the Space Instrument Making research and production association and Synertech. The Global Navigation Satellite System (Glonass), which was officially launched in 1993, is Russia’s answer to the US Global Positioning System (GPS).

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130517/181202208/Synertech-CEOs-Arrested-in-GLONASS-Embezzlement-Case.html

Russian Anti-Trust Watchdog Proposes Legalizing Parallel Import

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has proposed legalizing parallel imports, which are non-counterfeit products imported from another country without the permission of the intellectual property owner, with the exception of companies that have localized production in Russia, said FAS head Igor Artemyev. He said they propose a system that will protect investment from depreciation and help maintain a positive investment climate. "Russian businesspeople must be able to import legal commodities from any country," Artemyev said at a roundtable discussion on the protection of competition and intellectual property, held during the 3rd St. Petersburg International Legal Forum. "With all due respect for the rights holder, we must think above all about consumers," Artemyev said.

http://www.rapsinews.com/news/20130517/267421022.html

Chechnya’s Kadyrov Embroiled in Instagram Controversy

Officials found themselves deflecting controversy on Thursday after Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov was caught in an Instagram posing with a reportedly convicted murderer on Wednesday. Kadyrov posted an Instagram photo of himself standing with Bekhan Ibragimov, who had complained to Kadyrov of bribery at his local passport office, where he had applied for a new passport. Kadyrov posted the photo with a caption saying the official was fired and warning others against bribery. But bloggers soon identified Ibragimov as the same man who was convicted in 2011 for his role in the 2010 stabbing of a football fan to death in a fight in Moscow. Ibragimov was sentenced to five years in prison, and bloggers were wondering why he was at large. Ibragimov was found guilty of hooliganism for his role in stabbing Yuri Volkov, sentenced to five years in prison and sent to Chechnya to serve out his term, a Chechen law enforcement source told RIA Novosti. After serving more than half of his term, Chechnya’s Supreme Court ruled to release him on parole, the Federal Prison Service said in an official statement posted on its site Wednesday. Another man, Akhmedpasha Aidayev, is still serving out a 16-year sentence for the murder. Ibragimov was released just a week before complaining to Kadyrov. Kadyrov did not know that Ibragimov had been convicted, his spokesperson, Alvi Karimov, told Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei radio on Thursday. “[Kadyrov] had absolutely no knowledge of whether [Ibragimov] was convicted or not,” Karimov said.

http://themoscownews.com/russia/20130516/191517337/Chechnyas-Kadyrov-embroiled-in-Instagram-controversy.html

Navalny Trial Continues

At the fifth hearing in the embezzlement case against opposition blogger Alexei Navalny on Wednesday, a Kirov official said Navalny could not have organized the theft of timber that he is accused of because he did not have the authority to do so. The alleged embezzlement scheme involves a company called VLK LTD, which was co-founded by Navalny and his co-defendant, Pyotr Ofitserov. Prosecutors say the company pressured the heads of logging companies into selling timber at below-market prices. Sergei Shcherchkov, first deputy head of the Kirov region, testified at the Leninsky District Court that he had never seen Navalny pressure any heads of forestry enterprises into disadvantageous contracts or heard any complaints about Navalny, RBC reported. Navalny is currently standing trial in Kirov on charges of embezzling 16 million rubles ($500,000) worth of timber from the state-owned company KirovLes while working as an adviser to regional governor Nikita Belykh in 2009. Navalny faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted and would be barred from running for political office in the future, an ambition he has previously expressed. Unusually, the trial is broadcast online.

Rosbank Chairman Arrested

The board chairman of Rosbank and its senior vice-president have been detained and questioned by the security and anti-corruption department of the Russian Interior Ministry on suspicion of receiving a five million-ruble bribe from a businessman. In what is understood to have been a 'sting' operation, the Chairman of the Board of Rosbank, Vladimir Golubkov was arrested by police when counting the bribe money. According to investigators, the chairman of the board demanded $ 1.5 million from a person described as a representative of a business organisations. The ministry said it has also detained the Senior Vice-President of Rosbank, Tamara Polyanitsina. Rosbank is a modern universal bank, part of Societe Generale Group, one of the largest European financial services groups.

http://ruvr.co.uk/2013_05_15/Rosbank-chairman-detained-sting-operation/

Kyrgyzstan Demands US to Explain Bakiyev Prosecution Dismissal

Kyrgyzstan has requested an explanation from the United States as to why a US investigation into Maxim Bakiyev, the son of the former Kyrgyz President, has been closed, Daniyar Mukashev, a Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry official told reporters on Wednesday. Bakiyev had been accused of securities fraud in the United States. Bakiyev, who headed the Central Development, Innovation and Investment Agency in Kyrgyzstan under his father's presidency, was arrested in the UK where he had been living since fleeing Kyrgyzstan after a coup there in April 2010. The US Department of Justice accused him of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and obstruction of justice, and sought to extradite him. A London court released him on bail until an extradition hearing scheduled for May 13. However, it was revealed at the end of last week that the US authorities had dismissed the investigation for lack of sufficient evidence to file charges. Bakiyev has been sentenced in absentia to 25 years in prison in Kyrgyzstan for corruption.

http://en.ria.ru/crime/20130515/181162596/Kyrgyzstan-Asks-US-to-Explain-Bakiyev-Prosecution-Dismissal.html

Skolkovo Boss Denies Financing Opposition

The president of Russia's Skolkovo Foundation, billionaire businessman Viktor Vekselberg, denied on Wednesday earlier allegations that the foundation funded the political opposition. Russian investigators opened a criminal case last month against Alexei Beltyukov, the foundation’s vice president, over suspicions he illegally paid $750,000 to opposition lawmaker Ilya Ponomaryov, ostensibly for a series of lectures and research projects. “No, [Skolkovo] is in no way involved,” Vekselberg said at a news conference. Both Ponomaryov and Beltyukov have denied any wrongdoing. Beltyukov was suspended from his post earlier this month. The Skolkovo Foundation which manages the eponymous high-tech hub, is a pet project of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and was opened during his presidency in 2010.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130515/181163244/Russian-Tech-Hub-Boss-Denies-it-Financed-Opposition.html

CIA Agent Captured in Moscow

An alleged CIA agent has been briefly detained in Moscow for allegedly trying to recruit a Russian intelligence officer, Russian media report. The alleged agent was held overnight before being released to US officials, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said. He is said to have been working as a secretary at the US embassy in Moscow. The man was reportedly arrested with a large sum of money, technical devices and written instructions for the agent he had tried to recruit. He was named as Ryan Fogle, said to be a third secretary at the US embassy in Moscow.  "FSB counter-intelligence agents detained a CIA staff member who had been working under the cover of third political secretary of the US embassy in Moscow," the FSB said. "At the moment of detention, special technical equipment was discovered, written instructions for the Russian citizen being recruited, as well as a large sum of money and means for altering appearance." A letter found on the suspect (a photo was published by RT) promises an unnamed addressee $1 mln a year for "long-term cooperation" plus bonuses for valuable information.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22522494
http://lenta.ru/news/2013/05/14/instructions/
http://rt.com/news/fsb-detain-cia-agent-253/ (photo)
http://youtu.be/Je5cjpDwAbU (video)

Russian MP Condems Stalin Statue Sales in Duma

Russian lawmaker Sergei Mironov on Monday condemned the sales of busts of Soviet leader Josef Stalin, one of the 20th century's most brutal dictators, at a kiosk inside the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament. Visitors to the State Duma can buy a small figurine of the former Soviet leader for 6,000 rubles ($194) or a bigger bust for 30,000 rubles ($967). A full-length statue of Stalin smoking his pipe is also for sale for an undisclosed sum. “I think such busts should not be sold inside the walls of the State Duma,” Mironov, the head of A Just Russia's parliamentary faction and former Federation Council chairman, told reporters on Monday. Critics have accused President Vladimir Putin of attempting to bolster Stalin’s reputation. Recently introduced state-approved school history books describe Stalin as an “effective manager,” and have significantly reduced the number of those estimated to have been killed by his regime.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130513/181118423/Russian-MP-Condems-Stalin-Statue-Sales-in-Duma.html