Russia 'concerned' about Mikerin arrest

Russia's foreign ministry said yesterday that the circumstances surrounding the arrest in the USA of Russian citizen Vadim Mikerin and the actions of US intelligence and law enforcement agencies "raise serious questions."

Mikerin, who is general director of Tenam Corp, the US subsidiary of Russian fuel company Tenex, was arrested on 29 October on suspicion of fraud and receiving bribes. Tenex is itself a subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

In a statement, the ministry's commissioner for human rights, democracy and the rule of law, Konstantin Dolgov, said, "Russian diplomats are providing our compatriot with all the assistance necessary and are maintaining close contact with his lawyers and relatives. There have been two consular meetings during which the agreement of the US authorities for V E Mikerin to communicate with his wife and son was received."

He added, "We have of course raised serious questions as to the circumstances of the arrest of a citizen of Russia, and the actions of US intelligence and law enforcement agencies, which once again did not use the mechanisms of the bilateral Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters of 1999 in the context of the charges [against Mikerin]. We shall continue to help V E Mikerin enforce fully his civil and human rights."

Mikerin, a resident of Bethesda, Maryland, has been charged with conspiring to commit extortion in connection with a scheme to obtain contracts from a Russian company without having to compete for the contracts.

A separate criminal complaint charges Daren Condrey and his wife Carol Condrey - principals of Transport Logistics International (TLI), based in Fulton, Maryland - and Boris Rubizhevsky - president of NEXGEN Security, a New Jersey corporation - with conspiring to commit wire fraud in connection with the scheme.

If found guilty, the four defendants could each face up to 20 years in prison.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News