Awwal 15, 1432 H/Feb 18, 2011, SPA -- Russian tycoon Alexander Lebedev, the owner of Britain's Independent and London Evening Standard newspapers, asked Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday to intervene in a criminal investigation linked to his bank, Reuters reported. The billionaire ex-KGB agent, part-owner of an opposition paper, described the probe connected with his National Reserve Bank (NRB) and a police raid on its offices last year as an attack by criminal gangs working with the authorities. "I believe we are dealing with an organised mafia group making raids on my business in the guise of 'carrying out orders from above'," he said in an open letter to Putin on his blog. Lebedev said the group included highly placed current and former officers of the Interior Ministry and the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Soviet KGB's main successor, and "corrupt officials supervising securities." The November raid by armed police was linked to the suspected embezzlement of 450 million roubles ($15.5 million) from the bank Russian Kapital, which Lebedev's NRB bought in 2008. Lebedev was due to testify in court on Friday. "Respected Vladimir Vladimirovich! I am requesting you intervene in the situation, the bandit raid by werewolves in epaulettes," Lebedev said, using a term referring to corrupt law enforcement officers. A spokesman for Lebedev expressed concern that the probe could be extended to NRB itself. "We believe that prosecutors may be trying to link Lebedev with the current embezzlement investigation," spokesman Artyom Artyomov said by telephone. -- SPA
