Russian authorities are investigating two Skolkovo officials after auditors uncovered suspected embezzlement of budget funds, in a setback to a plan to create a Silicon Valley-style technology hub outside Moscow. Russia's Investigative Committee (Russia's counterpart to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation) said in a statement that it had opened a criminal investigation into the Skolkovo Foundation's finance director, Kirill Lugovtsev, and the head of the Skolkovo Customs Finance Company Vladimir Khokhlov, who are suspected to have stolen around 24 million roubles ($800,000). Alexander Chernov, vice president of the Skolkovo Foundation in charge of communications, declined to comment on the criminal case. He said Lugovtsev had left the foundation, while Khokhlov was still in his job, but was on temporary leave.
A two-day riot by inmates at a prison in Russia's Chelyabinsk Region ended peacefully, officials reported on Monday, as human rights campaigners sought details of how the troubles ended.
“The situation in Correctional Colony No. 6 is now stable and fully under control of its administration,” the region’s branch of the Federal Penal Service (FSIN) said in a statement on Monday. “No force was used against the prisoners,” the FSIN said.
Around 250 prisoners at the colony near the Urals city of Chelyabinsk rioted on Saturday, demanding a more relaxed regime and release of several of their number from a special punishment isolation unit.
The prisoners held up makeshift banners including one saying in red letters "We Have a Thousand on Hunger Strike" and another saying "People, Help."
A group of prisoners' relatives waiting for a visit on Saturday saw the convicts rioting while standing outside the gate. They were barred from entering during the disorder, but were reluctant to leave, sparking arguments which later resulted in clashes with the OMON riot police. Eight OMON riot police officers received injuries, the police reported on Sunday night.
A local television station released a YouTube video showing a car with a smashed windscreen next to a family with a small child. “We were yelling 'there is a child inside,' but to no avail,” a woman said while her husband wiped his bleeding face with snow.
“The police didn’t give any warning of an attack,” Oksana Trufanova, a local activist with Gulagu.net network, a rights group for prisoners and their relatives, told RIA Novosti on Monday.
Trufanova claimed she and several other people were beaten by the police outside the prison. Speaking outside the prison, Trufanova said she was hit on the head and fell down on her knees. She has been trying to get into the jail since the riot started, she added.
The police said at least 38 people were detained over the incident, and claimed some of them were drunk.
Relics of 13 saints, including those of the 13th century national hero Prince Alexander Nevsky, have been stolen from a church in St. Petersburg, a law enforcement source reported on Wednesday. An employee of St. Catherine the Martyr Church on Vasilyevsky Island reported the theft to police on Tuesday. “On Monday night the perpetrators entered the church through a window on the first floor and went to the office of the rector where they stole relics of 13 saints, including those of St. Alexander Nevsky. They also stole a communion cup of white metal with the image of saints and five baptismal crosses of yellow and white metal,” the source said. Police have opened a criminal investigation into the theft.
Law enforcement authorities have initiated first-ever stock market price manipulation case in the aftermath of a federal investigation of trading of Tatar company shares on the Moscow Stock Exchange, according to Russia's Federal Service for Financial Markets. Tatbento, the subject of the investigation, is supposedly involved in the production of clay and kaolin, constructing prefabricated buildings, and manufacturing ceramic tiles and bricks. According to investigators, however, the company carried out no commercial activity. Regulators reported that several individuals, including the company's founder, manipulated share prices between September and December 2010. "The price of ordinary shares increased by 50 percent," the federal service said. "An examination was held after a bid participant made a statement (in this regard), and regulator discovered signs of manipulation through its monitoring system." The federal law on combating the unlawful use of insider market information and manipulation came into effect on January 27, 2011.
