Hermitage alleges fraud in high places in Moscow
Times: Fraudsters operating within the Russian Interior Ministry and the Moscow Tax Authority have stolen 11.2 billion roubles (£235 million) from the state budget, according to a complaint filed today with the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation.
In a letter to Sergei Stepashin, the chairman of the chamber and head of Russia’s anti-corruption committee, Hermitage Capital, a British-based hedge fund manager that formerly was the biggest foreign portfolio investor in Russia, accuses senior government officials of conspiring with a private criminal gang to steal the money.
Leading officials in the Moscow Tax Authority covered up crimes involving billions of roubles embezzled from the state budget, Hermitage alleges in its letter, which names individuals, accuses them of covering up the fraudulent activity and urges the Accounts Chamber to investigate.