Moscow prosecutors take up Forbes editor murder case

Investigators probing the murder of Paul (Pavel) Klebnikov, editor-in-chief of the Russian version of Forbes magazine, believe the crime was related to the victim's professional activities, a Moscow prosecutor's office spokesman told Interfax on Saturday.

"Taking into account the special significance of the criminal case, a decision was made that the case would be passed from the Moscow Northwestern district prosecutor's office to the city prosecutor's office for investigation," he said.

The Moscow prosecutor's office told Interfax that the capital's prosecutor Anatoly Zuyev ordered the Klebnikov case to be handled by the gangsterism and murder investigation department. "This is because the investigators from that department have gained vast experience in investigating contract killings," they said.

According to the Moscow prosecutor's office, Klebnikov was shot while leaving the Forbes editorial office at 16 Dokukin Street on the evening of July 9. The victim received several bullet wounds and died in City Clinic No. 20 at 10:10 p.m.