Bribe to Illegally Seize A Firm Put at $30,000
08 September 2008
Need to ensnare a senior executive of a rival company in a criminal investigation? Be prepared to fork over $30,000 to an official. Tack on another $35,000 if you want a court to rule in your favor.
These are just some of the estimated fees that so-called raiders pay corrupt officials to help them illegally seize businesses, according to a new report on how to battle such seizures.
Based on interviews with more than 100 businessmen and lawyers in Russia, the report, released last week by the National Anti-corruption Committee and the Phoenix Group, gives the going market rates for giving a veneer of legality to criminal raiders, whom President Dmitry Medvedev has described as the "shame" of the country.
It costs $5,000 to obtain copies of a company's real estate documents — acquiring prime real estate is often raiders' key aim — while altering a company's charter to replace the CEO or founders costs around $10,000, according to the report. Securing a delay of court proceedings also costs $10,000, but getting a court to close a criminal investigation costs $50,000.
The report gives only the minimal rates, while the prices can run higher depending on the size of the company's assets, said Kirill Kabanov, head of the National Anti-corruption Committee.
"Usually it costs raiders no more than 40 to 45 percent of this amount to seize the company" Kabanov said, adding that the report "demonstrates that corruption plays a key role in the raiding phenomenon in Russia," Kabanov said.
Since taking office, Medvedev has ordered the introduction of anti-corruption measures to protect small and medium-size businesses, and at the end of June, Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Naryshkin submitted a plan for tackling the problem to the president.
Despite early measures in the anti-corruption campaign, raiders appear to be continuing their criminal activities undisturbed, especially in the regions, where businesses are more at the mercy of the local authorities than in Moscow.
Yelena Panfilova, head of the Russia office of Transparency International and a co-author of the report, said her organization decided to collaborate on the project because the government had been separating the fight against corruption from the battle against raiding.
"Fighting raiding is impossible without fighting corruption"' Panfilova said.
The report proposes an amendment to the Criminal Code defining "raiding" as a separate statute. Criminal investigations of suspected raiders are complicated by the fact that the crime intersects with several various statutes, including extortion and fraud, Panfilova said.
"It's difficult adequately punish raiders under the current law," she said.
These are just some of the estimated fees that so-called raiders pay corrupt officials to help them illegally seize businesses, according to a new report on how to battle such seizures.
Based on interviews with more than 100 businessmen and lawyers in Russia, the report, released last week by the National Anti-corruption Committee and the Phoenix Group, gives the going market rates for giving a veneer of legality to criminal raiders, whom President Dmitry Medvedev has described as the "shame" of the country.
It costs $5,000 to obtain copies of a company's real estate documents — acquiring prime real estate is often raiders' key aim — while altering a company's charter to replace the CEO or founders costs around $10,000, according to the report. Securing a delay of court proceedings also costs $10,000, but getting a court to close a criminal investigation costs $50,000.
The report gives only the minimal rates, while the prices can run higher depending on the size of the company's assets, said Kirill Kabanov, head of the National Anti-corruption Committee.
"Usually it costs raiders no more than 40 to 45 percent of this amount to seize the company" Kabanov said, adding that the report "demonstrates that corruption plays a key role in the raiding phenomenon in Russia," Kabanov said.
Since taking office, Medvedev has ordered the introduction of anti-corruption measures to protect small and medium-size businesses, and at the end of June, Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Naryshkin submitted a plan for tackling the problem to the president.
Despite early measures in the anti-corruption campaign, raiders appear to be continuing their criminal activities undisturbed, especially in the regions, where businesses are more at the mercy of the local authorities than in Moscow.
Yelena Panfilova, head of the Russia office of Transparency International and a co-author of the report, said her organization decided to collaborate on the project because the government had been separating the fight against corruption from the battle against raiding.
"Fighting raiding is impossible without fighting corruption"' Panfilova said.
The report proposes an amendment to the Criminal Code defining "raiding" as a separate statute. Criminal investigations of suspected raiders are complicated by the fact that the crime intersects with several various statutes, including extortion and fraud, Panfilova said.
"It's difficult adequately punish raiders under the current law," she said.
Discussion
Comments
To post comments you must be registered
Comments via Facebook
Most Read
1.
HIV Prevention Falls Short as Funding Ends
Katya moved to Moscow seven years ago and three years later — when she was pregnant with her first child — discovered she was HIV-positive.
2.
Bureaucrats Block Protesting Lego Men
Unprecedented protests have been held across Russia in recent months at which tens of thousands of demonstrators have been allowed to verbally lambaste the government.
3.
Putin's Besieged Fortress
The campaign rhetoric in Russia's presidential election has grown increasingly harsh. This happens in many countries, but the difference with Russia is that "external factors" play a disproportionately greater role in the political process. In most other countries, voters evaluate candidates based on their domestic policies or track records, especially with regard to the economy.
4.
General Says Russia Could Use Nuclear Weapons to Keep Country Intact
Russia's armed forces would be within their full rights to use nuclear weapons if any threats to the integrity of the country arise, Russian General Staff head Nikolay Makarov said Wednesday.
5.
Former Yukos Official Released From Prison
A former senior employee of oil company Yukos was released from prison Wednesday after serving more than seven years on charges of stealing billions of dollars.
6.
Elections Watchdog Golos Forced Out of Office Building
Independent election-monitoring group Golos is moving its Moscow office after its landlord demanded that the group cancel its rental contract early, a move Golos calls illegal.
7.
Report: Sub Fire a Near Nuclear Disaster
Russia came close to nuclear disaster in late December when a blaze engulfed a nuclear-powered submarine carrying atomic weapons, Vlast reported Monday, contradicting official assurances that it was not armed.
8.
Taxing the Robber Barons of the '90s
The situation in Russia has changed so much in recent weeks that the presidential election campaign has almost begun to resemble a real political contest.
9.
Inebriated Officer Loses Control, Job
A drunken traffic cop was busted in Moscow on Wednesday after he hit a parked car while driving a stolen vehicle.
10.
Tehran Is Neither Friend Nor Foe of Moscow
When Russians look at Iran, they see a country that has been their neighbor and rival forever. As the Russian empire advanced, it wrestled the North and South Caucasus from the shah. Peter the Great annexed, briefly, Iran's entire Caspian Sea coastline and put his forces just north of Tehran.
1.
Putin Chasing Imaginary American Ghosts
Here we go again — another round of anti-Americanism from the Kremlin and state-controlled media. Blaming outside forces for Russia's woes has a long history in the country. The closer we get to the March 4 presidential election, the more intense the anti-American hysteria becomes.
2.
Putin Plan Targets Population Drop
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin unveiled his plan on social policy Monday, focusing on how Russia will boost its dwindling population amid a demographic crisis that threatens to turn the country into "void space."
3.
Moscow Is Unlovable and Unlivable
Today's Moscow is unlovable and unlivable, overdeveloped, underserved by public utilities and choked by traffic. You can't drive, you can't breathe, there is no place to park and walking is impossible thanks to giant SUVs lining the sidewalks.
4.
Journalist Booted After Visa Violation
A prominent French writer and journalist has been kicked out of the country on the grounds that she did not have the right to research a book while on a business visa.
5.
Report: United Russia Might Be Dismantled
United Russia, the country's dominant political party for more than a decade, might be radically reformed or even dissolved in the coming months.
6.
Officer on Atomic Submarine Commits Suicide
A senior lieutenant serving on the Gepard atomic submarine, part of the Northern Fleet, hanged himself in his cabin.
7.
Start of Stadium Demolition Draws Outcry
Architectural preservation group Arkhnadzor said Monday that demolition at the constructivist-era Dynamo football stadium as a part of ongoing building work was against the law.
8.
Putin's Campaign Manager Calls Liberals "Filth of the Nation"
Vladimir Putin's campaign manager Stanislav Govorukhin quoted Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin in calling the liberal intelligentsia "the filth of the nation" in an interview published Monday.
9.
Putin Aide: Corruption Was 'Civilized'
Corruption in Russia was "normal" and "civilized" during Vladimir Putin's first stint as president and support for him has grown stronger as a result of recent opposition rallies, the prime minister's campaign manager has boasted.
10.
Moskva Hotel Reopens as Mall
A slew of Moscow real estate players unveiled a reconstructed Moskva Hotel on Tuesday, relaunching the premier Soviet hotel as a commercial center with 70 shops, a department store, underground parking and a hotel.
1.
Election Webcam Installation Begins
In a city that was once the cradle of Russian democracy, an unprecedented new campaign kicked off over the weekend to install web cameras in every polling station around the country in an effort to prevent voting fraud.
2.
Feminist Punk Band Become Unlikely Putin Foil
Pussy Riot, a feminist punk collective from Moscow, creates protest through its dissident songs and unsanctioned performances, including a brief unauthorized concert in late January on Red Square.
3.
Why Putin Will Never, Ever Give Up Power
If Putin gave up power at any age, he and dozens of his friends and colleagues who have become millionaires and billionaires over the past 10 years through their Kremlin-connected businesses could face serious corruption charges. This is why the best, and perhaps only, way for Putin to preserve immunity is to stay in power until death.
4.
Why Putin Is Mad at Me
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin got very angry last Wednesday when he met with the editors-in-chief of Russia's top media outlets.
5.
Russia Seeks Proof U.S. Zapped Failed Probe
A Russian state commission investigating the crash of the Fobos-Grunt Mars probe will conduct tests to see whether U.S. radar played a role in the spacecraft's failure.
6.
Putin Stand-In Faces Zhirinovsky Fire
In Tuesday's second presidential debate of the campaign season, firebrand Vladimir Zhirinovsky harangued Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's levelheaded proxy over her patron's refusal to debate and alleged desire to rule for life.
7.
Recruiters Say Mother Russia Seeking Talent
Demographics make it a candidate’s market, but foreigners have to offer something unique to find their place.
8.
Pro-Putin Song Is Web Hit
A schmaltzy music video hailing Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as Russia's savior became a hit on the Russian Internet on Tuesday, with many bloggers and YouTube users poking fun at the song's hyperbolic lyrics.
9.
From Protest to Nausea
The history of successive authoritarian regimes in Russia reveals a recurring pattern: They do not die from external blows or domestic insurgencies.
10.
Why Putin Is So Scared of Debates
Putin has always been the ultimate "Teflon president" — but certainly not in the Ronald Reagan sense of the word. Putin's brand of Teflon is clearly made in Russia. Because he wants to avoid uncomfortable questions about his decade-long rule, Putin is once again refusing to participate in presidential debates.


