VTB Bank, worn out by all this nonsense, and also by the fact that I’ve been hammering away at it for three years over the "drilling rigs case," has outfitted an entire expensive expedition and will be flying journalists and bank shareholders by helicopter and plane to the places where those very drilling rigs have been installed. Quite right too — it’s a good thing. I should note that I was invited as well, and they were even prepared to accommodate me in every possible way. So it would be completely wrong to say, "they only invited their own people." In that respect, I have no complaints about VTB. I would very much like to go, but unfortunately I can’t: the Investigative Committee won’t let me leave, because I’m under a travel restriction, and Bastrykin (head of Russia’s Investigative Committee) is now going all out in making life difficult for me.
In theory, you can understand why they won’t let me leave the country, but why I can’t go for two days to such "resort destinations" as the Vostochno-Tarkosalinskoye field in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug or the Vakhitovskoye field in Orenburg Region is beyond me.
Usually in cases like this, you write the investigator a note: due to such-and-such necessity, I need to travel to such-and-such place for such-and-such period, and he lets you go. I wrote the note, and I attached VTB’s letters with the itinerary.
No, they say — we are denying your petition. Your criminal inclinations suggest that you might evade the investigation by hiding out in the tundra. And perhaps you’d even engage in theft there too, from oil to fur-bearing animals. So now journalists are calling me and asking: if you were going, what questions would you ask? Here is my answer to everyone at once, and I hope VTB addresses this during the trip. Of course, it would be very interesting to look at the drilling rigs, if they are finally operating (they were purchased back in July 2007), but my question has not changed since the start of our investigation in 2009: who stole $152 million belonging to VTB Bank shareholders in this deal, why, and under whose "protection"?
Before showing the rigs, please comment on these documents: First:
Second:
The state-owned bank purchased the equipment not directly, but through an offshore company unknown to anyone, created solely for this deal. After receiving $152 million, the company never engaged in any other activity again. VTB claims it does not know who owns Clusseter. Can a state-owned bank enter into contracts worth half a billion dollars with a company nobody knows and whose founders are unknown? No, it cannot. It’s a very simple question. I ask journalists, shareholders, and everyone going on the trip to focus on it as well. And when looking at the drilling rig, ask not, "why is it painted pink," but rather, "why did you buy it for $15 million instead of $10 million — the manufacturer’s price? Just like the other 29 rigs? And who pocketed the difference?" After that question is answered, I’ll be ready to ask the rest: about the cost of leasing and subleasing about the cost of storage over all these years about the intermediary companies linked to VTB staff that took the money for storage and commissioning, while cheating the actual contractors about the falsification of commissioning certificates and so on Over the years, we’ve uncovered quite a lot. Links for those who want to dig into it in more detail: http://navalny.livejournal.com/411199.html http://navalny.livejournal.com/591922.html http://navalny.livejournal.com/592950.html http://navalny.livejournal.com/604359.html