Russian Billionaire Arrested over Bank Fraud

Russian billionaire environmentalist Gleb Fetisov, who owned a bank that lost its license last month, has been detained in Moscow on suspicion of grand fraud. Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said Friday that his agency requested the arrest of former senator Fetisov, who was listed as Russia’s 55th wealthiest businessmen in a Forbes rich list last year. Markin said Fetisov was suspected of siphoning out more than 6 billion rubles ($1.7 billion) from Moi Bank’s coffers and failing to pay off insurance compensation to clients following the bank’s closure. A criminal investigation has been launched against Fetisov and his suspected accomplices in connection with the alleged large-scale embezzlement, the spokesman said. Markin added that investigators were looking into Fetisov’s possible involvement in similar criminal activities.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140228/187966327/Russian-Green-Tycoon-Detained-Suspected-of-Bank-Fraud.html

Ex-Director of EBRD Pleads Not Guilty to Extortion Charges

Yelena Kotova, Russia’s former top representative at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) who has been charged with seeking a bribe of $1.4 million, pleaded not guilty in court on Wednesday, the RAPSI legal news agency reports from the Moscow courtroom. Igor Lebedev, a former top manager of a leading Russian bank, also denied charges against him. The court will examine evidence and question some foreign witnesses on February 12. The Interior Ministry announced last January that Kotova and Lebedev had been charged with abuse of office and using their ties in the business community to solicit funds from a Canadian oil company. The investigation discovered that Kotova allegedly solicited $1.425 million from representatives of a Canadian oil company in exchange for helping it get a $95 million loan from the EBRD.

http://en.ria.ru/crime/20140205/187227733/Ex-Director-of-EBRD-Pleads-Not-Guilty-to-Extortion-Charges.html

Russia’s Central Bank: Bitcoin Users Can Face Jail Time

Russia’s top monetary authority slammed digital currencies Monday, warning that Bitcoin use can lead to criminal charges in the country. The anonymously produced “virtual currencies” can be intended by its producers for money laundering and terrorism funding purposes, the Central Bank said in a statement. This means that Russian digital currency users can become involved in criminal activity simply by using the Bitcoin and its analogues, the regulator said. Digital currencies also lack any backing and are used for financial speculation, which increases risks for users, the Central Bank said. Moreover, Russian legislation directly prohibits the issuance of surrogate currency, the statement said. Money laundering is punishable with up to seven years in prison in Russia; funding terrorism – with up to 15 years. Russia’s legislation does not state a punishment for issuing surrogate currency.

http://en.ria.ru/business/20140127/186966541/Russias-Central-Bank-Bitcoin-Users-Can-Face-Jail-Time.html

Russian Police Catch Criminals Who Sent $1.1 Bln Abroad

Russian police have uncovered a Moscow-based criminal gang of more than 400 people that illegally transferred 36 billion rubles ($1.1 billion) out of Russia, the Interior Ministry said Monday. Several commercial banks and about 100 Russian and foreign companies – which police did not name – were used to launder the money abroad via "one-day companies" and real estate purchases in Cyprus and the Baltic states, according to a statement. In over five years of operations, the criminals charged clients a 2 percent commission, earning themselves a total profit of about 575 million rubles ($17.3 million), police said. Even Russian officials acknowledge that illegal money transfers are a significant drain on the Russian economy. Then head of the Central Bank, Sergei Ignatyev, said during a candid interview in February that $49 billion was sent out of the country illegally last year – about 2.5 percent of Russia’s GDP.

http://en.ria.ru/crime/20130708/182118629/Russian-Police-Catch-Criminals-Who-Sent-11-Bln-Abroad.html

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/

Fugitive Russian Banker Arrested in Austria

The former owner of the Bank of East European Finance Corporation (EEFC Bank, St. Petersburg) Alexander Gitelson, who was on the international wanted list for embezzling about 3 billion rubles ($94.6 million), has been arrested at his home in Austria, the newspaper Kommersant reported on Friday. The banker, who has been hiding since autumn 2010, was detained in Mostviertel in Lower Austria. According to the newspaper, he had several passports, including an expired Russian passport. The Prosecutor General’s Office told Kommersant that they would send extradition documents to Austria after they receive official notice of Gitelson’s arrest. The banker’s lawyer, Yevgenia Kotova, has so far seen no documentation of her client’s arrest, Kommersant writes. Gitelson is suspected of a major fraud involving state funds and has been investigated in connection with several cases. In April 2011, the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow sentenced him in absentia to five years in prison for stealing 500 million rubles ($15.8 million) from a member of the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament.

http://www.rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20130419/267090780.html