The country is descending into some kind of hell. Yesterday, in his address, Medvedev went on at length about fighting corruption and, showing off for the audience, said, "people need to be jailed." Today we open the newspaper Vedomosti. The acquisition of a 40% stake in VTB’s Cypriot subsidiary was extraordinarily profitable for the bank’s managers. The dividends on those shares turned out to be $13 million more than the amount paid for their purchase. It’s pretty straightforward. VTB’s subsidiary bank in Cyprus announces that it needs additional funds. So they carry out an additional share issue. The shares are bought up by VTB managers at **$11.71. **And seven months later, dividends of **$15.6 **per share are paid out. In other words, not only do you recoup your investment, you also make extra on top. The return on the deal is 66% annualized, with zero risk. One hell of a business. I want in too. Meanwhile, let me remind you, the people who invested their own money in VTB during the so-called "people’s IPO" (a mass retail share offering) bought shares at 13.6 kopecks each, and now they can sell them for only 6 kopecks. As for VTB itself, in the first half of 2009 the bank posted a loss of 11 billion rubles. Hey! Comrade President Medvedev, weren’t you saying someone ought to be jailed? I can think of some good candidates.