Trustcredit chiefs charged

The Interior Ministry Investigation Committee has officially brought charges against the heads of the Trustcredit Bank concerning ‘illegal banking’ and ‘phoney enterprise’, after what was described as “serious work going on regarding Trans-credit”. Bank president Raisa Dadayeva, vice-president Marina Tarasyuk and chief of the bank’s currency department Irina Piskunova were detained into the course of an investigation into money laundering and financing Chechen rebels. It is alleged that criminal profits from Russian regions were transferred into account at the bank, laundered at dummy companies and then channelled to the accounts of field commanders in foreign banks and to Chechnya for buying armaments. It is estimated by the Committee that over the past two months about US$20million has passed through companies allied to the bank. According to first deputy chief of the Investigation Committee, Sergei Novosyolov, the bank also permitted its exchange offices to use its licence for foreign currency exchange without proper accounts. The investigation into Trustcredit Bank has “clogged a major channel for financing rebels in Chechnya” staff at the Interior Ministry said, with Minister Vladimir Rushailo claiming the Ministry had “been informed about some other commercial companies that finance Chechen rebels”.