Mavrodi Under Investigation in Novosibirsk

12 May 2012, The Moscow Times

Kommersant

Founder of the MMM-2011 pyramid scheme Sergei Mavrodi is under investigation for "aiding and abetting illegal business activity," after the Novosibirsk prosecutor's office opened a criminal case in relation to the scheme, Kommersant reported Friday.

Mavrodi gained notoriety in the 1990s, when he was jailed for 4 1/2 years for fraud after founding Ponzi scheme MMM, which duped millions of Russians.

In April 2011, an investigation concerning "illegal business activity" was opened in Novosibirsk against Alexei Astafiyev, a regional manager of the MMM-2011 scheme, which is a carbon copy of the 1990s version. Astafiyev allegedly received more than 9 million rubles ($300,000) of investments from about 100 people over three months, promising them 900 percent returns. He took 2 million rubles of that amount as a bonus for himself, according to the prosecutor's statement, which also says Mavrodi acted as an adviser to Astafiyev.

Novosibirsk prosecutor Alexei Voitov has decided to combine the case against Astafiyev and investigation of Mavrodi, against whom charges have not yet been brought.

Mavrodi is now in Moscow where he is being sued by former MMM investors. He is also facing the legal repercussions of more than 300 cases of unpaid court ordered fines.

Medvedev Chats With u.S. Cowboys

25 May 2012, The Moscow Times

Combined Reports (AP, Reuters)

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev paid a visit Wednesday to a Bryansk region farm that has imported cattle from the United States and also some American cowboys to help the Russians develop their struggling meat industry.

Medvedev chatted with a couple of the cowboys dressed in boots, jeans and checkered shirts, including one in a broad-brimmed black hat from the U.S. state of Idaho, who introduced the prime minister to his wife and young son.

Medvedev asked the American in English whether he had managed to learn to speak any Russian.

The man, who was not identified in television reports on the visit, said that other than "please" and "thank you," the most important words in his Russian vocabulary were those needed for taking care of the cattle: "open the gate" and "close the gate."

The farm in the southwestern Bryansk region has more than 7,000 head of Aberdeen Angus cattle, many of them imported from the United States. At least four U.S. cowboys work on the farm, where they use American horses to herd the black cattle.

The Miratorg holding company, which operates the farm Medvedev visited and others in the Bryansk region, said it imported 5,500 head of the black cattle from the United States in January. Two previous shipments within the past year came from Australia.

The company also imported 57 American Quarter Horses, the breed used on ranches throughout the United States.

During a meeting at the farm with the Bryansk governor and other officials, Medvedev said Russia was committed to reducing its dependence on imported beef.

Medvedev was forced to cut short the visit after a downpour and strong winds nearly knocked over the pavilion where he met with officials.

"I think we need to break off and move to another building," he said in televised remarks as the flapping of the tent grew so loud it drowned out his words.