by Anna Arutunyan
Russia’s Investigative Committee and the Federal Security Service are on a collision course with prosecutors over a vast illegal casino ring alleged to be under the direct protection of high-placed Moscow region prosecutors.
The standoff culminated on Wednesday with an unprecedented FSB raid of Moscow region police headquarters and the arrest of three regional police officials.
At the heart of the battle is 30-year-old gambling kingpin Ivan Nazarov, whom the FSB is accusing of bribing Moscow region prosecutors with expensive vacations for protecting his casino racket, associating with oligarch-in-exile Boris Berezovsky and acting as a go-between for a law-
enforcement protection racket.
Allegations of police and security officials protecting casinos have circulated widely since a July 2009 ban forced gambling underground.
But mounting FSB leaks, the raid on a police headquarters, and the Investigative Committee’s persistent hounding of Nazarov – despite attempts by the Prosecutor General’s Office to bury the case – point to an escalating conflict within Russia’s power structures.
Nazarov may just be a figure caught in the crossfire, says his lawyer, Alexander Dobrovinsky.
“When Ivan was arrested, [Moscow region Investigative Committee officer Oleg] Tselipotkin told him, ‘you are my personal enemy,’” Dobrovinsky told The Moscow News. “Ivan asked why, and the investigator said, ‘Because you are friends with my enemies in the Prosecutor General’s Office.
I was reprimanded four times because of them. And I must take revenge.’”
The case goes back to a mysterious Feb. 11 FSB raid of the Triumph art gallery, operated by Nazarov’s friend, Emelyan Zakharov - but days later it surfaced that the FSB was actually after Nazarov.
The FSB announced Monday that thanks to the Triumph raid it had uncovered “close contacts” between Nazarov and Moscow region Prosecutor Alexander Mokhov, as well as his first deputy, Alexander Ignatenko.
Ignatenko has since been suspended from his job.
Documents leaked to the media showed pictures of Nazarov and Mokhov dancing, as well as travel agency lists that had Mokhov and Ignatenko - as well as their families - enjoying vacations to Paris and Milan, all paid for by Nazarov.
Mokhov has denied the allegations. “I paid for the vacations myself, I have all the necessary documents to prove it,” Mokhov was quoted by RBC as saying.
Asked if Nazarov was acquainted with the prosecutors, his lawyer said, “Probably. So they were acquainted, so what? What is the crime in that? Maybe they weren’t.”
As for the pictures showing them dancing, Dobrovinsky said, “They absolutely must instigate a criminal case for dancing. Lethal dancing,” he joked.
“If this is an illegal gambling case, then why aren’t there illegal gambling charges in the accusations?”
Instead, Nazarov is being charged with fraud.
Resistance from prosecutors
In an unusually candid statement, the FSB had blamed the Moscow region’s prosecutor’s office for “both hidden and open resistance to preliminary investigation,” RIA Novosti reported, citing a press release.
Meanwhile, the Investigative Committee - a structure separated from prosecutors last year by President Dmitry Medvedev as Russia’s answer to the FBI - claimed its criminal probe was initially overruled by prosecutors, a complaint it took up with Prosecutor General Yury Chaika.
Chaika’s deputy, Vladimir Malinovsky, had halted a criminal probe launched on Feb. 11. Investigators then launched another criminal probe.
During Nazarov’s arraignment on Thursday, the prosecution protested the investigator’s demands that the defendant be placed in custody. Nazarov, the prosecution argued, had a license to hold lotteries - therefore his business was legal, RIA Novosti reported.
The standoff may be a reflection of an ongoing struggle for influence within the organisations.
“This may be part of a deeper process linked to transfer of administrative resources, but we don’t know the facts,” Kirill Kabanov, the head of the National Anti-Corruption Committee, told The Moscow News. “The problem is we’re playing guessing games, because we have no independent oversight.”
The siloviki are playing games that have little to do with law enforcement, Kabanov said. “A bunch of guys in uniforms get together and start wasting each other. Everyone can get someone for something.”
Calls for a reshuffle
Aside from Ignatenko’s suspension, there was no indication as of Thursday what would happen to senior prosecutors named in connection with the case.
But lawmakers called for a thorough probe into activities of everyone involved, including the prosecutors.
United Russia deputy Alexei Volkov called for a “clean-out” of all structures involved in the “scandal”.
“If there aren’t any cadre changes and resignations, then we can hardly talk about any serious intentions to fight corruption,” Volkov was quoted by RBC as saying.
Others said busting up the gambling protection rackets was long overdue.
“It’s good that the FSB has cracked this, because of course there was ‘krysha’ [protection] from law enforcement structures.” Duma Deputy Gennady Gudkov, a member of the security committee, told The Moscow News.
“Prosecutors and investigators may well be in a state of confrontation - so what? It’s good if gambling and corruption is being busted.”
Asked if he expected to see any firings, he said, “I hope there are. It’s time for a renewal. If this confrontation continues, I will insist on some sort of checks.”
Preview:Prosecutors fingered in casino racket
The FSB raid a Moscow region police HQ in the midst of a corruption standoff
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