Anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny labeled the country's top investigator a "foreign agent" Thursday after publishing documents accusing him of concealing real estate and business interests in the Czech Republic.
Navalny said on his LiveJournal page that he was following up on comments by United Russia State Duma Deputy Alexander Khinshtein, who first made the claims against Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin in 2008.
According to Navalny, a leader of the protest movement against President Vladimir Putin's rule, Bastrykin "set about covering his tracks" after Khinstein's comments appeared in the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily by backdating documents registering the sale of his share in Czech real estate firm LAW Bohemia.
"Dispensing with a stake in company is a formal process conducted with notarized actions. Therefore, he [Bastrykin] used fake authorities and phony deals," Navalny wrote.
In addition, Bastrykin didn't pay income tax on the roughly 50,000 Czech korunas ($2,400) he received from the stake sale, didn't inform the Federal Tax Service about his overseas income and held residency rights in the EU member state while having access to state secrets, Navalny said, posting scanned documents on LiveJournal to back up his accusations.
Navalny said he had sent letters to Putin, the Investigative Committee, Federal Security Service, as well as all Duma fractions and the Czech police, informing them of his findings.
Bastrykin has repeatedly denied owning a business abroad.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
