COURT AGREES TO START PROCEEDINGS AGAINST HOSPITALIZED EX-SENATOR -1
RIA Novosti, Russia
Dec 8 2006
MOSCOW, December 8 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Supreme Court has agreed to
launch criminal proceedings in absentia against former senator Levon
Chakhmakhchyan, currently in hospital, a RIA Novosti correspondent
reported Friday.
The court accepted fraud charges against Chakhmakhchyan filed by the
Prosecutor General’s Office.
Chakhmakhchyan was dismissed from his post as deputy head of the
Federation Council’s committee for self-government after being caught
up in a bribery scandal. However, the former senator was immune from
prosecution, and was not arrested.
In a sting operation in June, FSB operatives found $300,000 in cash,
which had been previously marked with special ink, in the office of
the chief accountant of the Association of Russian-Armenian Business,
of which Chakhmakhchyan was vice president. The FSB alleged that the
funds had been taken as bribe money.
Prosecutors say Chakhmakhchyan formed an organized crime group to
extort funds from companies including air carrier Transaero.
Boris Kuznetsov, a lawyer for Chakhmakhchyan, said two suspects in the
case had so far been arrested. However, he said his client dismisses
all accusations as "absolute nonsense."
The lawyer also said he intended to appeal the Supreme Court’s decision
to start criminal proceedings against his client.
"I will appeal, so today’s decision will not come into force, and
the Prosecutor General’s Office will not be able to obtain an arrest
warrant for my client," the lawyer said.
When the scandal broke out in June, several MPs questioned the
legality of measures against Chakhmakhchyan and asked for a special
investigation into the case; however, 136 senators in parliament’s
upper house voted for Chakhmakhchyan’s dismissal.
Following a call from President Vladimir Putin in May for stronger
anti-corruption measures, several senior officials in the customs
and security services have been sacked.