| Investigators from the Prosecutor-General's Office and
the Federal Security
Service (FSB) on 23 October conducted a raid of the offices of a
public-relations firm that is doing campaign work for the Yabloko party,
Russian media reported. The firm, the Strategic Communications Agency,
specializes in political consulting, according to "Izvestiya."
Its general
director, Vadim Malkin, told the daily that some 25 officers came and
presented a warrant in connection with the case of suspected embezzlement
and tax evasion pending against Yukos shareholder Platon Lebedev. Lebedev
is
chairman of the board of directors of Menatep, Yukos's financial arm, and
was arrested on 2 July on charges that he embezzled a 20 percent stake
in
the Apatit fertilizer company in 1994 (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
24 July 2003).
According to Interfax, an unidentified source in the prosecutor's office
said the search was carried out as part of an investigation into possible
tax evasion by Yukos.
See also:
State Duma elections
2003
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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, October 24, 2003
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