On December 12, officers from the Russian Interior Ministry and General Prosecutor’s Office paid visits to INTERBRANCH INDUSTRIAL BANK (MEZHPROMBANK) and MARKETINGBANK. The operation was conducted on reports of money laundering in MEZHPROMBANK, said Anzhela Kastuyeva, head of the press service of the Interior Ministry’s Main Department for the Central Federal District.
Under the scheme, she went on to say, «the bank issued money to a Russian company to buy goods abroad, which were then brought back to Russia via Belarus without paying taxes and customs duties. Revenue from those goods’ sale was then legalized via the banks.» She added that a criminal case had been opened under Article 188 (contraband) and referred to the General Prosecutor’s Office. Kastuyeva cited investigators as saying that MEZHPROMBANK and MARKETINGBANK effectively have a single owner.
Source: VEDOMOSTI, December 13, 2005
