Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev has called on the State Duma to reprimand opposition Deputy Gennady Gudkov, claiming that he threatened police officers who were conducting an investigation into his security company.
Kolokoltsev's strongly worded demand came in a letter sent to Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin following a raid on Gudkov's security firm, Pantan, in early May. The raid threatens to put the company out of business.
Police said the company's license, which allows security guards to carry weapons, had been canceled because the weapons were improperly stored. The firm is owned by Gudkov's family.
Gudkov, a former Federal Security Service officer and a deputy from the left-leaning A Just Russia party, has said that the raid was carried out in retaliation for his vocal support of opposition protests.
The security agency was founded in 1992 and works with several large international clients like Ikea and Procter & Gamble. It is the main source of income for Gudkov's family.
Kolokoltsev said in the letter to Naryshkin that Gudkov had "publicly threatened" police officials conducting the investigation at his office and had promised to organize a protest near the Interior Ministry building, Izvestia reported Tuesday,
The paper also reported that Kolokoltsev sent Naryshkin a DVD showing the raid being carried out.
Naryshkin's spokesperson confirmed that Kolokoltsev's letter had been received by Naryshkin's office.
Gudkov was not available to comment Tuesday. Sergei Ivanov, a deputy with the Liberal Democratic Party and a member of the ethics committee, told RIA-Novosti on Tuesday that the committee may recommend that Gudkov apologize to police.
He said the maximum punishment Gudkov might face would be to have his right to address the Duma from the floor revoked for a month.
