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Alfa Group Accused of Bribing to Buy MegaFon
The Bermuda offshore IPOC filed a $150-million suit to the District Court of New York against Leonid Rozhetskin, owners of Alfa Group Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, Alfa Capital Markets Corp., and Altimo, which controls telecom assets of Alfa Group. The defendants are accused of corrupt practices, tampering with witnesses and larceny during the purchase of 25.1 percent in MegaFon by Alfa divisions. According to the analysts, the suit will hardly be considered on the merits but may damage good standing of Alfa Group worldwide.
The District Court of New York took the suit under advisement June 8, IPOC representatives said yesterday. The suit was filed under the RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations), and set forth Fridman M. C. Enterprise as a defendant. The party accused includes Alfa Group owners Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven; Leonid Rozhetskin, former holder of 25.1 percent in MegaFon and head of LV Finance; Swiss lawyer Hans Bodmer; Alfa Capital Markets and Altimo, which is in charge of the telecom assets of Alfa Group.
IPOC says its target is to refund $150 million through courts and insists that Fridman M.C. Enterprise spent $11 million for tampering with witnesses and bribes in an effort to cover up the clandestine dealings and pocket the assets of IPOC.
Today’s trial is a part of the clashes between Alfa Group and IPOC concerning the blocking stake (25.1 percent) in MegaFon. The brawl sparkled August 5, 2003, once Alfa Group announced it acquired LV Finance, the owner of a blocking stake in MegaFon. IPOC, which owned 6.5 percent in MegaFon at that time, stepped in to challenge Alfa September 18, 2003. It said Alfa bought the stake by-passing two option agreements made by IPOC and LV Finance for a total worth of $50 million.
The amount of the current suit - $150 million – was calculated exactly in view of the above $50 million, as pursuant to RICO, a claimant may demand remedy in amount threefold above the initial sum.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of June 13, 2006
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