-Caveat Lector- Russian Corruption Scandal Revived By JUDITH INGRAM .c The Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) - The opening of a Swiss criminal probe into possible money laundering by aides to President Boris Yeltsin has revived a corruption scandal that allegedly reaches the highest levels of power in Russia. A Swiss official said Wednesday that a criminal investigation had been launched into alleged money-laundering by Kremlin financial manager Pavel Borodin and other Russian citizens. Swiss prosecutors have asked Swiss banks to freeze assets of 22 people suspected in the case, including Borodin, his wife, and top members of Yeltsin's administration, according to Swiss media reports. ``We have reason to suspect it was bribe money being laundered,'' Swiss investigating judge Daniel Devaud was quoted by The Moscow Times as saying. Borodin rejected the allegations. ``Neither I nor my wife have anything to do with Swiss bank accounts,'' he was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency. ``All these media attacks on me have been made on clearly political orders.'' The Kremlin had no comment, but Yeltsin was expected to defend his top financial aide - the man responsible for providing housing and other material comforts for the president and his family. ``There will be a very sharp reaction from the presidential administration, because now there's talk about concrete names ... people close to Yeltsin,'' said Yevgeny Volk, director of the Moscow office of the Heritage Foundation. Corruption has long played a leading role in Russian life at all levels, often dictating such everyday decisions as who will get a business license or whose son will be excused from army service. It has positively bloomed in post-Soviet Russia, where savvy businessmen with political connections have been able to get rich quickly through the privatization of state-owned property. While Yeltsin has not been personally linked to corruption allegations, his administration has done little to fight endemic graft in the government. The Kremlin has been fighting persistent opposition and media allegations of influence-peddling by the members of Yeltsin's close circle, including his daughter Tatyana Dyachenko. She has been tied to controversial tycoon and Kremlin insider Boris Berezovsky, who is also being investigated for his involvement in the finances of Russia's largest airline, Aeroflot. The first reports of the kickback scandal emerged in January, when Swiss officials at Russia's request searched the offices of a construction company called Mabetex. Russian investigators suspected that Mabetex had bribed top officials for lucrative renovation contracts. In February, Swiss Federal Prosecutor Carla del Ponte informed Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Skuratov that Mabetex had been regularly transferring large amounts of money to a Swiss bank account. Skuratov has been battling to keep his job ever since, and says that attempts to remove him from office are an effort to curb the probe. Yeltsin suspended Skuratov, but he has refused to leave. Russian prosecutors searched Borodin's office in March and confiscated documents involving Mabetex, but no charges have been made. Both Mabetex and the government say they did no wrong. Borodin's lawyer, Boris Kuznetsov, said in an interview Thursday in the Kommersant daily that the allegations against Borodin were ``a purely political action against the president of Russia, initiated by Swiss Prosecutor Carla del Ponte.'' Del Ponte has continually pledged Swiss support in Russia's inquiry. Swiss prosecutors have also been investigating the tycoon Berezovsky and his involvement in the finances of Aeroflot, headed by Yeltsin's son-in-law, Valery Okulov. In April, Russian prosecutors issued a warrant for Berezovsky's arrest on charges of hiding Aeroflot's hard currency earnings in Swiss firms. The warrant was later revoked. Last week, though, Swiss prosecutors seized a large number of documents from two firms in Lausanne, Switzerland, that are linked with Berezovsky: Andava and Forus Service. The tycoon founded the companies in 1994, one day after Aeroflot was privatized, Russia's Izvestia daily reported on Thursday. Berezovsky is accused of funneling $250 million through the two firms. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! 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