Federal prosecutor says Aeroflot investigation strengthened Swiss ties with Russia
The federal prosecutor, Valentin Roschacher, has expressed satisfaction with Swiss and Russian judicial co-operation in the fight against international crime. He said the visit by the Russian prosecutor, Nikolai Volkov, had strengthened their ties.
Roschacher admitted that collaboration on financial crime was still new, and that not everything had functioned smoothly. But, he added that they were heading in the right direction.
Volkov left Switzerland on Friday after collecting hundreds of files he had received from Swiss authorities. He said the evidence could prove crucial in his investigation into possible corruption at the state airline, Aeroflot.
Volkov said the documents provided by Switzerland could enable him to bring charges against the Russian business tycoon, Boris Berezovski, for embezzlement and money laundering.
Berezovski is suspected of embezzling $700 million (SFr 1.162 billion) from the airline and laundering the money through two Swiss companies, Forus and Andava, which he helped to create.
Roschacher said Russia had brought five new requests to the government for judicial aid. Switzerland, for its part, has also put in several requests for collaboration with Moscow.
One possible fraud case the Russian prosecutor said he had discussed with Swiss authorities involved a $4.8 billion loan to Russia from the International Monetary Fund. He said he had reason to believe that this money is, or has been, in Switzerland.
Another corruption case implicates the Swiss-based construction company, Mabetex. Its bosses are suspected of paying bribes to Kremlin officials in exchange for lucrative building contracts.
Volkov said he hoped cooperation between Swiss banks and the Swiss authorities could be speeded up to help Moscow press ahead with its inquiries.
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