Russian interior ministry controls over 100 money-laundering facts abroad

The Russian interior ministry is controlling over 100 money-laundering cases abroad. Head of the Main Economic Crimes Department of the Russian Interior Ministry Alexei Orlov said as much Thursday at a meeting with newsmen.

Orlov remarked that criminal proceedings had been launched with regard to 40 out of the 100 money-laundering facts. One third of the cases was provided by the Financial Monitoring Committee, a body, which coordinates cooperation with ministries and departments in solving economic crimes related to capital flight abroad.

Orlov added that 30-200 million dollars were involved in every case. The gathered materials cover 3-5 years of activities of the illegal organisations concerned.

President of the National Investment Council and Chairman of the Board of the National Reserve Bank Alexander Lebedev, for his part, stressed that in all 100-120 billion dollars had been taken from Russia, according to the interior ministry's information. Only 5-10 percent of this sum can be considered criminal.

To quote Lebedev, the bulk of the funds were taken away in violation of the currency and tax legislation. The owners of the money thought it impossible to keep money in Russia due to political and economic instability. According to Lebedev, these funds cannot be returned by force.