Mabetex boss charged with bribing Kremlin officials
The boss of the Swiss construction company, Mabetex, is to face charges of corruption in connection with renovation work carried out on the Kremlin. Behgjet Pacolli is accused of bribing Russian officials to win lucrative building contracts.
An examining magistrate in Geneva, Daniel Devaud, said he would be bringing charges against Pacolli for allegedly bribing high-ranking Kremlin officials to the tune of four million US dollars.
Pacolli confirmed he has received notice of the charges. He denies all the accusations.
Davaud has also issued an international summons to the former Kremlin finance chief, Pavel Borodin. He and his family are suspected of receiving substantial sums from Pacolli.
Borodin has since been appointed honorary executive secretary of the Russia-Belarus union. But the Geneva magistrate said this would not entitle him to immunity from questioning or prosecution.
Mabetex has long been suspected of paying kickbacks to high-ranking Kremlin officials in exchange for lucrative building contracts in Russia.
Last year, Pacolli was alleged to have paid the credit card bills of some family members of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
swissinfo with agencies
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