**The Russian Interior Ministry is aware of "a number of major commercial deals of a highly dubious nature" involving A. Navalny **WASHINGTON, December 3. /PRIME-TASS/. The Russian Interior Ministry is aware of "a number of major commercial deals of a highly dubious nature" involving the well-known Russian blogger Alexei Navalny. This was reported to ITAR-TASS by a member of the ministry’s delegation that was in Washington for talks with U.S. law enforcement agencies on cooperation in combating corruption. Alexei Navalny is widely known in Russia and abroad for his exposés on corruption published online. He recently spoke on this subject before the U.S. Congress’s Helsinki Commission (the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe). According to that same commission, he is currently living and working in one of the New England states. Asked about professionals’ attitude toward the blogger’s exposés, the Interior Ministry official first pointed out that the Internet is, among other things, also "a tool for making money," and that online there is a "price list" for placing compromising material, including on "websites that use anti-corruption rhetoric." He also noted that in response to any anti-corruption case pursued by the Interior Ministry, a "black PR campaign against the internal affairs bodies" unfolds on the Internet. The source said he had not personally dealt with Navalny’s claims, although by virtue of his position he had "heard a lot about it." "It may be that some of what Navalny says /and he says a great many things/ is true," he said. "But I want to tell you for certain that there are a number of major commercial deals of a highly dubious nature in which Navalny has been involved. And these deals are of operational interest and of interest to investigative authorities." On that basis, the source allowed himself to suggest that, "perhaps, from Navalny’s point of view, these exposés are an effective tool of self-protection and an attempt to obstruct." Specialists do not generally comment on the substance of exposé publications as such. "We cannot and do not consider it necessary to enter into a discussion with every disseminator of such information, primarily because there is investigative secrecy," the source said. "Understand, it is a very convenient tool," he explained. "Throw out some bait so that the internal affairs bodies lay the materials they have on the table. Can you imagine how interesting that information would be to those trying to obstruct the investigation?" *The Russian delegation described its meetings and talks in Washington as highly successful. According to the delegation, the sides agreed to expand practical cooperation and information-sharing. Both expressed interest in eventually creating a permanent anti-corruption working group in the format of the Russian Interior Ministry and the U.S. FBI. *////////// Hooray! At last the Russian Interior Ministry has taken up the fight against corruption! The police are great, really. They figured out my plans very quickly. "Throw out some bait so they’ll lay the materials on the table, for the purposes of a black PR campaign." Update. The cops are still unbelievably funny: In the *Investigative Committee of the Interior Ministry, there are no criminal cases against lawyer Alexei Navalny Oleg Yelnikov, head of the Interior Ministry press center, told Gazeta.Ru that he does not know who Alexei Navalny is and has no idea what dubious commercial deals were being referred to in the statement by a representative of the Russian delegation in Washington. "That delegation is currently in the United States, and I cannot get in touch with its representatives right now, if only because of the time difference," Yelnikov said, promising to provide clarification at the beginning of next week. from *here