Mar.01, 2010, 3:42 AM EST
Russian investigators busted a crime ring that laundered more than $1.6 billion since 2007 for companies and individuals in and around Moscow, the Interior Ministry’s economic crimes department said.
The group charged a fee of between 1 percent and 7 percent to legalize ill-gotten gains through three commercial banks and 79 domestic and foreign firms, the ministry said in a faxed statement today. More than 150 officials were involved in the investigation.
“In order to prevent a cover-up of the crime, accounts of shell companies that contain more than 72 million rubles have been arrested,” the statement said. At today’s exchange rate, 72 million rubles is equivalent to $2.4 million.
The government is stepping up its fight against corruption. Then-President Vladimir Putin called in July 2007 for lawmakers and the central bank to tighten the law against money laundering. Andrei Kozlov, the Russian deputy central bank chief who led the anti-money-laundering effort, died in September 2006 after he was shot in the head and neck by two gunmen.
President Dmitry Medvedev has called corruption a threat to national security. Russia convicted 3,512 officials on corruption charges last year as the government tries to crack down on graft, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office.
The Interior Ministry arrested two suspected members of the money-laundering ring. A third was detained and released after signing a pledge not to leave the country, according to the statement.