A screen grab from an Interior Ministry video showing Rosbank chief executive Vladimir Golubkov at his desk Wednesday with the alleged bribe money. (Interior Ministry) |
Investigators
said Thursday that they have opened a criminal case into Rosbank chief
executive Vladimir Golubkov and bank senior vice president Tamara Polyanitsina
on bribery charges.
Golubkov is
suspected of having taken a bribe, while Polyanitsina has been named as an
intermediary in the case.
"Golubkov,
through his subordinate, demanded over $1 million from a commercial
organization and received that amount in several installments from 2012 to
2013," said Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin.
Investigators
believe that Golubkov demanded money from a businessman for reviewing the
payment terms on his multimillion-dollar foreign currency loan with the bank.
Golubkov
was detained at his office Wednesday in a dramatic raid filmed by the Interior
Ministry and held overnight.
Golubkov,
meanwhile, has denied wrongdoing, his lawyer Dmitry Kharitonov said Thursday.
He stressed
that his client had been "illegally held in custody without being charged
with a crime" from Wednesday afternoon until 6:15 a.m. Thursday.
Kharitonov
said his client would have no comment to make about the case.
The
Interior Ministry said Golubkov was detained while receiving 5 million rubles
($160,000) in cash as the last installment in a total payment of $1.5 million,
which he allegedly demanded for his favors.
Rosbank,
which is owned by France's Societe Generale, has not made any public comment
about the investigation.
Golubkov
has worked for the bank, Russia's ninth largest, since 1999 and was appointed
CEO in September 2008.
If charged
and convicted of extortion, he and the senior vice president face up to seven
years in prison and stiff fines.
Related Article:
Archangel Michael on Putin - May 13, 2013 (An Hour with an Angel)
SB: Okay.
Thank you, Lord. I’m going to put the Vladimir Putin question ahead of the
Boston bombing question. I think a lot of Russian readers and listeners are
wondering if they can trust Vladimir Putin.
Now, you’ve
said he was in containment and he’s coming out of containment. Can you direct
yourself to Russian listeners, please, and tell them what they need to know
about Vladimir Putin, please?
AAM: Well,
I will say that he has been gradually coming out of containment, and
reintegrated, shall we say, into society and into his role and decisions. So what
I say to you is be vigilant and be the observer. Do not get caught in what
appears to be the drama of this readjustment of power. So, allow the shifting
of the core and the centers of power to be adjusted.
Russia has
a very important role to play in the future years, as I have said before. So,
stand back, my friends. Be the observer. I am not asking you to extend your
wholehearted trust and empathy to this individual. What I am asking you to do
is to extend trust to your own discernment, because it is not 100 per cent
clean, but it is not dirty either.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.