Dagestan Lawmaker Accused of Laundering $2.7 Bln

A lawmaker in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan has been accused of laundering 100 billion rubles ($2.7 billion) in a banking scheme involving fly-by-night firms, police said Thursday. The municipal assembly deputy, who has not been named, is believed to be part of a criminal group of bankers that was exposed in a major operation in March. The cash laundered in the scheme was disguised as printed materials and flown to Moscow from the capital of Dagestan, Makhachkala, and later distributed among clients, which included major finance and credit organizations. Four people were arrested when they received over 500 million rubles ($14 million), police said. Authorities believe the deputy under investigation headed a group that recruited legal entities to use their accounts for illicit banking operations.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140227/187934175/Dagestan-Lawmaker-Accused-of-Major-Cash-Laundering-Scheme.html