London resident Dmitry Skarga, Russia’s ex-senator from the Volgograd region and Sovcomflot former general director
Photo: Pavel Smertin
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Sovcomflot Tankers Emerged in London
The Investigating Committee at the RF Prosecutor General Office has officially confirmed the demand for extradition of St. Petersburg businessman Yuri Nikitin from Britain on count of defrauding Sovcomflot of $700 million. Nikitin has applied for the political refugee status in that country.
State-controlled shipping company Sovcomflot is the owner of 56 vessels, including 45 tankers with the total loading capacity of roughly 4.2 million tons. Britain’s media reported past Friday that the RF Prosecutor General Office officially requested the extradition of Yuri Nikitin. Another person involved in the case, businessman Yuri Privalov, was detained in Switzerland.
Both businessmen are suspected of defrauding a shipping company of over $700 million, people in the RF Prosecutor Office Investigating Committee said without naming the affected party.
But Kommersant reported details of the case September 26, 2006 and January 17, 2007. Sovcomflot went through the change of management in 2006 and new leaders filed a lawsuit to the London Court against the London resident Dmitry Skarga, Russia’s ex-senator from the Volgograd region and the company’s former general director. The suit also mentions a group of Russia’s businessmen. The RF prosecutors simultaneously opened their criminal case based on those claims.
In 2003 through 2004, the investigators assert, former managers of Sovcomflot used to lease the company’s ships to some offshore firms at the low rates. In the next move, those firms re-leased the vessels at the market prices and the difference was shared by persons involved in the deal.
As to consideration of Sovcomflot’s lawsuit in London, the hearing will begin next year, as the process of information disclosure will complete only October 9, 2009.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Feb. 04, 2008
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