The Basmanny Court of Moscow has arrested shares of Bashneft, owned by Sistema (84.4% of shares), as part of the Levon Ayrapetyan case. According to the Russian Investigative Committee, he earned $2 billion from selling the shares and was accused of money-wasting and legalization of illegal income. Testimony of Igor Izmestyev, an employee of the businessman and an ex-senator of Bashkiria serving life imprisonment, was used as a reason for the detention, Kommersant reports.
Ayrapetyan’s lawyer Igor Komarov said he could not comment on the situation.
Ayrapetyan, the tenth richest Armenian businessman and one of the main Nagorno-Karabakh sponsors, was detained at Domodedovo Airport upon his arrival from Nice on Tuesday. He was taken to the 13th floor of the President Hotel for questioning. The businessman owns half of the floor. The police checked it. Two boxes with bullets were found.
Ayrapetyan is also suspected of being involved in Sergey Finagin’s Kingiseppskaya Gang, allegedly responsible for carrying out assassinations for banker Georgy Safiyev and then senator Igor Izmestyev, Rosbalt reports.
His business started with the Ogonek magazine and the Komsomolskaya Pravda paper. He developed contacts with many politicians and businessmen, including Russian ex-Prime Minister Victor Chernomyrdin and Bashkirian ex-President Murtaza Rakhimov. Ayrapetyan is an active lobbyist for recognition of the Armenian Genocide. He has even discussed the Genocide with U.S. President Barack Obama
The Basmanny Court of Moscow has arrested shares of Bashneft, owned by Sistema (84.4% of shares), as part of the Levon Ayrapetyan case. According to the Russian Investigative Committee, he earned $2 billion from selling the shares and was accused of money-wasting and legalization of illegal income. Testimony of Igor Izmestyev, an employee of the businessman and an ex-senator of Bashkiria serving his life imprisonment, was used as a reason for the detention, Kommersant reports.Ayrapetyan’s lawyer Igor Komarov said he could comment on the situation.Ayrapetyan, the tenth richest Armenian businessman and one of the main Nagorno-Karabakh sponsors, was detained at the Domodedovo Airport upon his arrival from Nice on Tuesday. He was taken to the 13th floor of President Hotel for questioning. The businessman owns half of the floor. The police checked it. Two boxes with bullets were found.Ayrapetyan is also suspected of being involved in Sergey Finagin’s Kingiseppskaya Gang, allegedly responsible for carrying out assassinations for banker Georgy Safiyev and then senator Igor Izmestyev, Rosbalt reports.His business started with the Ogonek magazine and the Komsomolskaya Pravda paper. He developed contacts with many politicians and businessmen, including Russian ex-Prime Minister Victor Chernomyrdin and Bashkirian ex-President Murtaza Rakhimov. Ayrapetyan is an active lobbyist for recognition of the Armenian Genocide. He has even discussed the Genocide with U.S. President Barack Obam
