News
- 14 September 2010, 16:58
- The Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation
At last the final point was has been reached in the criminal proceedings related to one of the numerous episodes of the criminal activities of B.A. Berezovsky.
Pursuant to the Order of the Office of Federal Examining Magistrates of the Swiss Confederation on 27.08.2010 a bank transfer in the amount of $ 52.222 million was made to the account of “Aeroflot-Russian Airlines” in compensation for the damage caused to this state-owned company as a result of fraud, perpetrated by Berezovsky and his accomplices, while performing in 1996-1998 illegal transactions between “Aeroflot” and the Swiss company “Andava” controlled by B.A. Berezovsky.
OAO “Aeroflot” confirmed the fact of receiving in its bank account the said currency money means, which, since 1999, had been blocked in the bank accounts of “Andava” and the accused persons in Switzerland, at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation.
Thus, for the first time a precedent has been created when the Russian-Swiss international judicial cooperation in criminal matters has succeeded in passing through all the procedures from initiating a criminal case and its investigation to rendering a guilty judgment, and the full recovery to the victim Russian company of the amount of damage on an especially large scale.
The criminal case with regard to B.A. Berezovsky and other persons on the facts of crimes against the property of “Aeroflot” was instituted by the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation in January 1999.
According to the investigation results, in order to take possession of this company’s assets Berezovsky, using his connections in the public authority agencies, had his accomplices N. Glushkov and A. Krasnenker occupy top positions in “Aeroflot”, and they transferred 80% of the currency proceeds of “Aeroflot’s” foreign representative offices to the bank accounts of “Andava”, whose main stockholders and directors were Berezovsky and Glushkov. All in all $252 million dollars were transferred in favour of “Andava” bypassing the authorized Russian banks.
Getting an opportunity to use the said currency means the organized criminal group headed by Berezovsky created a mechanism of stealing them under the pretext of executing the agreement obligations between Aeroflot” and “Andava”, which was implemented, besides N. Glushkov and A. Krasnenker, by the chief accountant OAO “Aeroflot” L. Kryzhevskaya and others. By the moment this crime was discovered and the criminal case was instituted Berezovsky and his accomplices had stolen from “Aeroflot” the sum equivalent to 53 million Swiss francs (about 52.2 million dollars).
The investigation of this crime was carried out by the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation in difficult conditions of constant counteraction on the part of the forces which were interested in obstructing the lawful resolution of the matter. Suffice it to say that in April 2001 the accused N. Glushkov, who was arrested as a measure of restriction, escaped from detention in order to escape criminal responsibility for stealing the “Aeroflot” assets.
Glushkov’s escape was organized by the closest ally of B. Berezovsky – A. Patarkatsishvili and his three accomplices, who issued a foreign passport for Glushkov with a visa to enter Italy, checked his possible routes of travel outside the Russian Federation borders, and provided Glushkov with car transport; however they were detained together with him.
During the preliminary investigation on the episode “Aeroflot-Andava” the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office arraigned 10 people as accused together with Berezovsky (including the persons, who organized Glushkov’s escape from under arrest) in respect of whom in 2004, 2006 and 2007 the Savelovsky District Court of Moscow passed judgments of conviction. The accused A. Patarkatsishvili and A. Krasnenker escaped criminal responsibility on account of their death.
The criminal proceedings in respect of Berezovsky were conducted in his absence, as he absconded from the investigation and trial. Nevertheless, the court fully admitted the civil claim filed by “Aeroflot” against Berezovsky and other accused persons, in the amount of the damage caused by them.
At the same time the Attorney General’s Office of the Swiss Confederation investigated into the criminal matter against the Swiss citizen H.P. Jenni who was one of the directors of “Andava” and the closest ally of Berezovsky.
In July 2008 the Federal Criminal Court of the Swiss Confederation passed a guilty verdict in respect of Jenni, where it was stated that he had committed a crime against “Aeroflot” property in the interests of Berezovsky as a member of a criminal group created by the latter. The Swiss Court emphasized in the conviction that the criminal prosecution against Berezovsky in Russia is connected with the commission of economic crimes by him, and is not politically motivated.
Besides, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court allowed the claims lodged by “Aeroflot” against Berezovsky, Jenni and other convicted persons in full conformity with the convictions passed in respect of them by the Russian court.
In order to execute these guilty verdicts, upon completion of the lengthy appeal procedure and entering them into legal force the Swiss Federal Office of Examining Magistrates on 07.07.2020 passed a resolution on returning the assets to the owner, pursuant to which on 27.08.2010 a transfer in the amount of $ 52.222 million was made to the “Aeroflot” account in the Russian Commercial Bank.
At present the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation has begun to implement the mechanism of exacting from Berezovsky and his accomplices the damage in the amount of more than 60 billion rubles, caused by them as a result of stealing the OAO “AvtoVAZ” property, which had been legalized by means of successive purchase and sale transactions of real estate property, and also shares of such companies as “ORT”, “TV-6” and others, and driving out abroad the received currency means.
Based on the results of this investigation on 25.06.2009 the Krasnogorsk District Court of the Moscow Region passed in respect of B. Berezovsky and Yu. Dubov (who is hiding in Great Britain together with Berezovsky) a conviction, having found them guilty of the commission of fraud and legalization on an especially large scale. Under the said conviction, which has entered into legal force, the overall punishment, imposed on Berezovsky taking into account the conviction related to the episode “Aeroflot-Andava”, is 13 years of deprivation of freedom. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office also charged as accused in the stealing of the “AvtoVAZ” property and its legalization A. Patarkatsishvili and A. Krasnenker who had died before the said conviction was rendered.
However, on the basis of the decision of the Kransnogorsk District Court in order to grant the victims’ claims the property recovery will be imposed both on the assets of Berezovsky and Dubov, and on the objects belonging to Patarkatsishvili, Krasnenker and their legal successors.
Apart from international legal measures for the execution of the said convictions, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation in cooperation with the law enforcement agencies of foreign states is continuing the criminal prosecution against B. Berezovsky and the participants of the transnational criminal association, as well as the actions aimed at searching and confiscation of the property stolen and legalized by him.
At present the prosecution and judicial bodies of the Russian Federation, and some foreign courts are considering five criminal matters in respect of Berezovsky and his accomplices, related to ten episodes of the charges attributed to them.
Besides, a number of pre-trial checks are being performed in respect of the new facts of crimes committed by Berezovsky.
The Prosecutor General's Office
of the Russian Federation
The Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation
14 September 2010, 16:58
More than 52 million US dollars have been returned to “Aeroflot”, stolen by B.A. Berezovsky and his accomplices
At last the final point was has been reached in the criminal proceedings related to one of the numerous episodes of the criminal activities of B.A. Berezovsky.
Pursuant to the Order of the Office of Federal Examining Magistrates of the Swiss Confederation on 27.08.2010 a bank transfer in the amount of $ 52.222 million was made to the account of “Aeroflot-Russian Airlines” in compensation for the damage caused to this state-owned company as a result of fraud, perpetrated by Berezovsky and his accomplices, while performing in 1996-1998 illegal transactions between “Aeroflot” and the Swiss company “Andava” controlled by B.A. Berezovsky.
OAO “Aeroflot” confirmed the fact of receiving in its bank account the said currency money means, which, since 1999, had been blocked in the bank accounts of “Andava” and the accused persons in Switzerland, at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation.
Thus, for the first time a precedent has been created when the Russian-Swiss international judicial cooperation in criminal matters has succeeded in passing through all the procedures from initiating a criminal case and its investigation to rendering a guilty judgment, and the full recovery to the victim Russian company of the amount of damage on an especially large scale.
The criminal case with regard to B.A. Berezovsky and other persons on the facts of crimes against the property of “Aeroflot” was instituted by the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation in January 1999.
According to the investigation results, in order to take possession of this company’s assets Berezovsky, using his connections in the public authority agencies, had his accomplices N. Glushkov and A. Krasnenker occupy top positions in “Aeroflot”, and they transferred 80% of the currency proceeds of “Aeroflot’s” foreign representative offices to the bank accounts of “Andava”, whose main stockholders and directors were Berezovsky and Glushkov. All in all $252 million dollars were transferred in favour of “Andava” bypassing the authorized Russian banks.
Getting an opportunity to use the said currency means the organized criminal group headed by Berezovsky created a mechanism of stealing them under the pretext of executing the agreement obligations between Aeroflot” and “Andava”, which was implemented, besides N. Glushkov and A. Krasnenker, by the chief accountant OAO “Aeroflot” L. Kryzhevskaya and others. By the moment this crime was discovered and the criminal case was instituted Berezovsky and his accomplices had stolen from “Aeroflot” the sum equivalent to 53 million Swiss francs (about 52.2 million dollars).
The investigation of this crime was carried out by the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation in difficult conditions of constant counteraction on the part of the forces which were interested in obstructing the lawful resolution of the matter. Suffice it to say that in April 2001 the accused N. Glushkov, who was arrested as a measure of restriction, escaped from detention in order to escape criminal responsibility for stealing the “Aeroflot” assets.
Glushkov’s escape was organized by the closest ally of B. Berezovsky – A. Patarkatsishvili and his three accomplices, who issued a foreign passport for Glushkov with a visa to enter Italy, checked his possible routes of travel outside the Russian Federation borders, and provided Glushkov with car transport; however they were detained together with him.
During the preliminary investigation on the episode “Aeroflot-Andava” the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office arraigned 10 people as accused together with Berezovsky (including the persons, who organized Glushkov’s escape from under arrest) in respect of whom in 2004, 2006 and 2007 the Savelovsky District Court of Moscow passed judgments of conviction. The accused A. Patarkatsishvili and A. Krasnenker escaped criminal responsibility on account of their death.
The criminal proceedings in respect of Berezovsky were conducted in his absence, as he absconded from the investigation and trial. Nevertheless, the court fully admitted the civil claim filed by “Aeroflot” against Berezovsky and other accused persons, in the amount of the damage caused by them.
At the same time the Attorney General’s Office of the Swiss Confederation investigated into the criminal matter against the Swiss citizen H.P. Jenni who was one of the directors of “Andava” and the closest ally of Berezovsky.
In July 2008 the Federal Criminal Court of the Swiss Confederation passed a guilty verdict in respect of Jenni, where it was stated that he had committed a crime against “Aeroflot” property in the interests of Berezovsky as a member of a criminal group created by the latter. The Swiss Court emphasized in the conviction that the criminal prosecution against Berezovsky in Russia is connected with the commission of economic crimes by him, and is not politically motivated.
Besides, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court allowed the claims lodged by “Aeroflot” against Berezovsky, Jenni and other convicted persons in full conformity with the convictions passed in respect of them by the Russian court.
In order to execute these guilty verdicts, upon completion of the lengthy appeal procedure and entering them into legal force the Swiss Federal Office of Examining Magistrates on 07.07.2020 passed a resolution on returning the assets to the owner, pursuant to which on 27.08.2010 a transfer in the amount of $ 52.222 million was made to the “Aeroflot” account in the Russian Commercial Bank.
At present the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation has begun to implement the mechanism of exacting from Berezovsky and his accomplices the damage in the amount of more than 60 billion rubles, caused by them as a result of stealing the OAO “AvtoVAZ” property, which had been legalized by means of successive purchase and sale transactions of real estate property, and also shares of such companies as “ORT”, “TV-6” and others, and driving out abroad the received currency means.
Based on the results of this investigation on 25.06.2009 the Krasnogorsk District Court of the Moscow Region passed in respect of B. Berezovsky and Yu. Dubov (who is hiding in Great Britain together with Berezovsky) a conviction, having found them guilty of the commission of fraud and legalization on an especially large scale. Under the said conviction, which has entered into legal force, the overall punishment, imposed on Berezovsky taking into account the conviction related to the episode “Aeroflot-Andava”, is 13 years of deprivation of freedom. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office also charged as accused in the stealing of the “AvtoVAZ” property and its legalization A. Patarkatsishvili and A. Krasnenker who had died before the said conviction was rendered.
However, on the basis of the decision of the Kransnogorsk District Court in order to grant the victims’ claims the property recovery will be imposed both on the assets of Berezovsky and Dubov, and on the objects belonging to Patarkatsishvili, Krasnenker and their legal successors.
Apart from international legal measures for the execution of the said convictions, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation in cooperation with the law enforcement agencies of foreign states is continuing the criminal prosecution against B. Berezovsky and the participants of the transnational criminal association, as well as the actions aimed at searching and confiscation of the property stolen and legalized by him.
At present the prosecution and judicial bodies of the Russian Federation, and some foreign courts are considering five criminal matters in respect of Berezovsky and his accomplices, related to ten episodes of the charges attributed to them.
Besides, a number of pre-trial checks are being performed in respect of the new facts of crimes committed by Berezovsky.
