Threats from the USA to Gennady Timchenko

The Wall Street Journal informs that the US investigative bodies suspect Gunvor, a company formerly owned by Gennady Timchenko, and the businessman himself of money laundering. Representatives of the trader and G.Timchenko deny that they have received any inquiries either from the Prosecutor’s Office or from the Ministry of Justice of the USA. However, according to the sources of Kommersant, investigations by the US authorities may affect other Russian businessmen, who, in Washington’s opinion, are included in the “inner circle of Vladimir Putin”.

The Wall Street Journal citing its sources informed that the Prosecutor’s Office of the Eastern District of the State of New York together with the Ministry of Justice of the USA investigate Gennady Timchenko, the former owner of the Swiss trader Gunvor, in connection with possible money laundering via the US financial system. In particular, the deals of purchase of oil from Rosneft by the trader and reselling of this raw material are studied. According to the newspaper, the investigators have lately requested information on the prices within the scope of transactions during the period of the sanctions imposed on Russia and on Mr.Timchenko personally. The Wall Street Journal says that the transfers of money within the scope of the transactions may be qualified as laundering, if it is proven that the money were received as a result of illegal activities <...>

Advocate Alexander Petrov of the Law Firm "YUST" points out that the USA may consider the case in their territory in accordance with their own legislation, and demand extradition of G.Timchneko if a verdict of guilty is reached in absentia. But Russia does not extradite its citizens (Mr.Timchenko is a citizen of Russia and Finland). A sentence for Gennady Timchenko may also be passed in absentia; he may also be arrested in absentia and declared wanted. According to Mr.Petrov, investigation of such cases usually takes years, and proving the cases themselves is difficult. He cites as an example the investigation of Boris Berezovsky and several former top managers of Aeroflot for supposed theft of the company funds: it started in late 1998 and went on until the end of the 2000s.