Money Laundering Russia

Business tycoon Boris Berezovsky was charged with money laundering and barred from leaving Moscow after being grilled for several hours by prosecutors Monday. Berezovsky, linked to several political intrigues in recent years, has been clashing with Prime Minister Yevgeny M. Primakov and fighting to preserve his financial empire. Berezovsky says that he is innocent and that the charges are "utterly wrong."

A top aide to former Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin is expected back in Moscow today, three months after money-laundering charges landed him in U.S. and Swiss jails. Pavel P. Borodin was freed from detention in Switzerland after Russia paid $3 million in cash for his bail. Borodin, 54, an ex-Kremlin property manager, was extradited last week from the U.S. to Switzerland.

Russian prosecutors have dropped a high-profile corruption case against business tycoon Boris A. Berezovsky after months of investigation and just weeks after accusing him of stealing $600 million from the national airline, Aeroflot, the Interfax news agency said. Prosecutor Nikolai Volkov signed a resolution Thursday terminating charges against Berezovsky, a close ally of President Boris N. Yeltsin, the report said.

Russian tycoon and former Kremlin insider Boris A. Berezovsky refused to show up for questioning by Moscow prosecutors Wednesday, saying he will choose exile rather than face a criminal case he says was fabricated on political orders. Prosecutors summoned Berezovsky in an investigation into whether he channeled $970 million in sales from Russia's national airline, Aeroflot, through two Swiss companies, Andava and Forus Services. Prosecutors warned beforehand that he may be charged in the case.

A top Russian intelligence official said Monday that U.S. investigators have material suggesting that Russian businesses laundered money through the Bank of New York and promised cooperation with the FBI in following the paper trail, Russian news agencies reported. Media reports that Russian officials may be involved in laundering up to $10 billion through the New York bank have intensified growing discontent with President Boris N.

Russian tycoon and former Kremlin insider Boris A. Berezovsky refused to show up for questioning by Moscow prosecutors Wednesday, saying he will choose exile rather than face a criminal case he says was fabricated on political orders. Prosecutors summoned Berezovsky in an investigation into whether he channeled $970 million in sales from Russia's national airline, Aeroflot, through two Swiss companies, Andava and Forus Services. Prosecutors warned beforehand that he may be charged in the case.

Jumping into the furor over alleged Russian money laundering, a congressional committee Tuesday heard testimony ranging from comforting words from the Clinton administration to allegations that international aid money was stolen. Treasury Secretary Lawrence H.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright threatened Thursday to withdraw crucial U.S. backing for new International Monetary Fund and World Bank loans to Russia unless Moscow takes "fully adequate" steps to protect aid money from corrupt and criminal elements. "We have made clear that we will not support further multilateral assistance to Russia unless fully adequate safeguards are in place," she told a gathering of foreign policy specialists and diplomats here.

Prosecutors lifted an arrest warrant for controversial tycoon Boris A. Berezovsky because he promised to return to Russia to face inquiries on money-laundering charges, the Interfax news agency reported in Moscow. Berezovsky said he plans to fight charges that he was behind the illegal transfer of $250 million from Russia's Aeroflot airline to the Swiss company Andava. The tycoon was in France on business when the warrant was issued for his arrest as a result of an investigation.

Russian officials issued an arrest warrant Tuesday for tycoon Boris A. Berezovsky, who in a matter of months has slid from being the country's richest man and top power broker to being its most prominent fugitive. Berezovsky, the best-known and most influential of the business "oligarchs" who financed President Boris N. Yeltsin's 1996 reelection campaign, is wanted on charges of money laundering and other illegal business practices.

Russian prosecutors have dropped a high-profile corruption case against business tycoon Boris A. Berezovsky after months of investigation and just weeks after accusing him of stealing $600 million from the national airline, Aeroflot, the Interfax news agency said. Prosecutor Nikolai Volkov signed a resolution Thursday terminating charges against Berezovsky, a close ally of President Boris N. Yeltsin, the report said.

Jumping into the furor over alleged Russian money laundering, a congressional committee Tuesday heard testimony ranging from comforting words from the Clinton administration to allegations that international aid money was stolen. Treasury Secretary Lawrence H.

A top Russian intelligence official said Monday that U.S. investigators have material suggesting that Russian businesses laundered money through the Bank of New York and promised cooperation with the FBI in following the paper trail, Russian news agencies reported. Media reports that Russian officials may be involved in laundering up to $10 billion through the New York bank have intensified growing discontent with President Boris N.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright threatened Thursday to withdraw crucial U.S. backing for new International Monetary Fund and World Bank loans to Russia unless Moscow takes "fully adequate" steps to protect aid money from corrupt and criminal elements. "We have made clear that we will not support further multilateral assistance to Russia unless fully adequate safeguards are in place," she told a gathering of foreign policy specialists and diplomats here.

In this city of breathtaking Alpine peaks, medieval charm and world-class fashion, the little Fenini Shop is notable for being, well, uninspiring. The family-owned clothing store, tucked into a mini-mall near a highway offramp, sells a ho-hum selection of Levis and casual sweaters. Neighbors say they've rarely seen a customer in the place, and some snicker that the shopkeeper spends most of her time drinking Campari in the bar on the corner.

President Clinton's senior Russia policymakers, including Vice President Al Gore, were kept in the dark for five months about a Justice Department investigation of alleged money laundering involving Russian criminal elements and a major U.S. bank, U.S. officials disclosed Tuesday. Clinton administration officials said the lack of notification is significant because efforts to curtail corruption in Russia, including money laundering, have been a key issue in U.S.

A top aide to former Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin is expected back in Moscow today, three months after money-laundering charges landed him in U.S. and Swiss jails. Pavel P. Borodin was freed from detention in Switzerland after Russia paid $3 million in cash for his bail. Borodin, 54, an ex-Kremlin property manager, was extradited last week from the U.S. to Switzerland.

President Clinton's senior Russia policymakers, including Vice President Al Gore, were kept in the dark for five months about a Justice Department investigation of alleged money laundering involving Russian criminal elements and a major U.S. bank, U.S. officials disclosed Tuesday. Clinton administration officials said the lack of notification is significant because efforts to curtail corruption in Russia, including money laundering, have been a key issue in U.S.

For years, it's been common knowledge that Russia's sickly economy was bleeding billions of dollars overseas. What hasn't been clear is who was doing it--and how. The enormity of the sums involved raises suspicions of wrongdoing; estimates of capital flight from Russia over the past seven years range from $50 billion to $150 billion. But it still hasn't been determined whether the money flows have been legal, quasi-legal, or outright illegal.

Business tycoon Boris Berezovsky was charged with money laundering and barred from leaving Moscow after being grilled for several hours by prosecutors Monday. Berezovsky, linked to several political intrigues in recent years, has been clashing with Prime Minister Yevgeny M. Primakov and fighting to preserve his financial empire. Berezovsky says that he is innocent and that the charges are "utterly wrong."