RUSSIA’S SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS CHARGES AGAINST EX-LAWMAKER

RIA Novosti, Russia
March 06, 2007

MOSCOW, March 6 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Supreme Court has upheld
embezzlement charges against the former member of the upper house of
parliament Tuesday.

Levon Chakhmakhchyan, 54, an ex-senator from the Kalmykia Region in
southern Russia, is accused of being part of an organized group that
was involved in extorting funds from companies, including Russia’s
major airline Transaero, and "misappropriating property" worth $1.5
million, the Prosecutor General’s Office earlier said.

In June, Federal security agents found $300,000 in cash, which had
earlier been marked with a special ink, in the office of the chief
accountant of the non-governmental organization, the Association of
Russian-Armenian Business Cooperation, where Chakhmakhchyan presided.

Prosecutors said Chakhmakhchyan’s "criminal group" also involved
his son-in-law, Armen Oganesyan, who was an assistant auditor in the
Russian Audit Chamber, and the chief accountant at the Association
of the Russian-Armenian Business Cooperation.

After being allegedly caught up in the bribery scandal Chakhmakhchyan
was dismissed from his post.

Moscow’s Basmanny Court remanded the ex-senator in custody for
two-months, adding that he could face up to 10 years in prison if
found guilty. The judge allowed Chakhmakhchyan to remain in custody
until February 1 for health reasons.

In December last year the Supreme Court agreed to launch criminal
proceedings in absentia against the ex-senator. The former senator’s
defense Boris Kuznetsov appealed the decision, and the court convened
Tuesday to review the case.

Recently Russia has been plagued by a series of corruption scandals
involving senior governmental officials.

One of the most publicized scandals was the criminal case against
Vladivostok mayor Vladimir Nikolayev, who has been allegedly involved
in the illegal sale of land.

The former mayor of Tomsk in Siberia, Alexander Makarov, was one
of the latest targets in a series of corruption probes. He suffered
a heart attack at a meeting with law-enforcement officials, and is
suspected, together with a relative, of extorting $114,000 from local
residents by threatening to destroy their real estate and prevent
them from rebuilding.