BBC Russian: Интервью с Уильямом Браудером
October 19, 2009
Консультанты компании Hermitage Capital Management направили письма главам министерства финансов, Счетной палаты, Федеральной налоговой службы, Центробанка России, а также правоохранительных и следственных органов страны с просьбой расследовать мошеннические схемы, связанные с хищением из федерального бюджета возвращенных налогов на прибыль на общую сумму 11,2 млрд рублей, в том числе 5,4 млрд рублей, ранее уплаченных компаниями фонда Hermitage.
Таким образом, выходит, глава Hermitage Уильям Браудер радеет не только за свои, давно утраченные, интересы в России, но и за интересы российского бюджета. Не вовлеченные в эту историю юристы предлагают сначала разобраться в мотивах тех или иных действий Браудера, доказать вину задействованных в этой истории сотрудников правоохранительных органов и налоговых инспекций.
Ведомости: Распилить за один день
October 19, 2009
Мастер по приему пиломатериалов может отпилить от государственного бюджета 5,4 млрд руб. без помощи налоговиков и милиции, считает российский суд. Фонд Hermitage, который пострадал в этом деле вместе с государством, исключает такую возможность и провел собственное расследование.
The Telegraph: Russia jails sawmill foreman for largest ‘tax fraud’ in country’s history
October 19, 2009
Viktor Markelov has pleaded guilty to “fraud by prior collusion by a group of persons and in an especially large amount” in a Moscow court, after the case was brought to the authorities’ attention by Hermitage Capital Management, the hedge fund battling to expose corporate corruption in Russia.
According to the verdict, Mr Markelov, 42, “a foreman for deliveries of lumber from sawmill DOZ-160”, used three former Hermitage subsidiaries to reclaim RUB5.41bn (£106m) of capital gains taxes paid by the hedge fund in a highly complex fraud. He will serve five years “in a correctional colony … with no fine”. There is no mention of any attempt to recover the lost taxes in the verdict or pursue other conspirators.
Mr Markelov’s sentence was reduced from 10 years after the court took “into consideration personal information”. It omitted to mention that he had previously been sentenced to two-and-a-half years for manslaughter.
Hermitage, the biggest foreign investor in the Russian stock market until 2006, has claimed that the sophisticated fraud could only have been committed with the collusion of senior figures in the nation’s law enforcement agencies and tax offices.
Bill Browder, the founder of Hermitage, has stepped up his campaign against Russian corruption by posting his allegations on YouTube.
Article by Philip Aldrick was published in The Telegraph.
The Times: Hermitage alleges fraud in high places in Moscow
October 19, 2009
In a letter Hermitage Capital accuses senior government officials of conspiring with a criminal gang to steal £235 million.
Fraudsters operating within the Russian Interior Ministry and the Moscow Tax Authority have stolen 11.2 billion roubles (£235 million) from the state budget, according to a complaint filed today with the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation.
In a letter to Sergei Stepashin, the chairman of the chamber and head of Russia’s anti-corruption committee, Hermitage Capital, a British-based hedge fund manager that formerly was the biggest foreign portfolio investor in Russia, accuses senior government officials of conspiring with a private criminal gang to steal the money.
Leading officials in the Moscow Tax Authority covered up crimes involving billions of roubles embezzled from the state budget, Hermitage alleges in its letter, which names individuals, accuses them of covering up the fraudulent activity and urges the Accounts Chamber to investigate.
Evidence uncovered by Hermitage, the company stated in its letter to Mr Stepashin, pointed to “an organised criminal group comprised of private individuals and government officials”. The frauds “would not have been possible without the direct involvement of officials” from the Moscow Tax Authority, Hermitage wrote.
Letter to the Chairman of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation
October 19, 2009
Letter to the Chairman of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation
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