Alexander Zhukov’s office insists that the Petr Zhukov on the bench in London has nothing to do with deputy prime minister’s son
Photo: Valery Levitin
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Russian Deputy PM’s Son Beats Up London Banker
The son of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov is accused of beating a banker in London, The Times newspaper reported Wednesday. The 24-year-old joined a vodka-fuelled brawl that left the man needling 25 stitches to his face, the court said. The press service of Deputy Prime Minister Zhukov insists that the person in question is only a namesake of the minister’s son. Kommersant learnt, however, that Mr. Zhukov’s son and the man in court were born on the same day.
Petr Zhukov, 24, repeatedly punched Ben Ramsey, a City banker, in the head and body after he tried to gatecrash a Russian party last July, the court said. Police found Mr. Ramsey on the pavement outside a London block of flats covered in blood. He was taken to hospital and required five stitches to his cheek and twenty to his lower lip.
Mr. Ramsey and his friend Barry Whyte tried to join the party after hearing loud dance music. A fight broke out when Mr. Zhukov’s friend, who owned the flat, tried to persuade them to hand over their beers and leave, it was alleged. When police arrested Zhukov and his friend, they were drunk and had cuts on their knuckles, but the Deputy Prime Minister’s son claimed that he was acting in self-defense.
Mr. Ramsey told jurors he thought he was being attacked by “serious criminals — drug dealers or gun smugglers”, The Times reported. The trial continues.
Meanwhile, Alexander Zhukov’s office insists that the Petr Zhukov on the bench in London has nothing to do with deputy prime minister’s son. The spokesperson for the vice-premier says that this is the way Zhukov’s political rivals have chosen to blacken his reputation.
Official information on the defendants that Kommersant received from London police says that Petr Zhukov is not only a banker like Alexander Zhukov’s son but he was also born on September 2, 1982.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Apr. 19, 2007
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