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By John Helmer, Moscow Oleg Deripaska is running out of friends who stick up for him, especially at the Finance Ministry in Moscow and the Federal Tax Service. Deripaska doesn’t deny that the practice of tolling, through which his United Company Rusal has saved at least $5 billion in tax payments to the Russian treasury […]
by John Helmer - Tuesday, December 28th, 2010
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By John Helmer, Moscow Suleiman Kerimov is a businessman of note. He is also a member of the Federation Council, as the upper chamber of the Russian parliament is called. His long parliamentary career began in 1999, when he was elected to the State Duma, as the lower chamber is known. Unlike any elected deputy […]
by John Helmer - Thursday, December 23rd, 2010
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By John Helmer, Moscow Many Hindu gods are depicted with multiple arms. This is a pictorial way of illustrating for believers the many qualities which the god is believed to exercise. By assigning many arms, the illustrator was able to demonstrate the many things the deity can pull off at the same time.
by John Helmer - Thursday, December 9th, 2010
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By John Helmer, Moscow Oleg Deripaska has told the Chinese to carry his water while he waits for the British to decide what he owes to the individual who, once upon a time, trusted him more than anyone else has done ever since.
by John Helmer - Tuesday, November 30th, 2010
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By John Helmer, Moscow When Transcontainer, the state rail company, started selling its shares in the form of global depositary receipts (GDR) on the London Stock Exchange on November 11, the price fixing was $80 per share, $8 per GDR. “We are very pleased that the first IPO of a subsidiary of Russian Railways has […]
by John Helmer - Monday, November 29th, 2010
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By John Helmer, Moscow Lawyers for the US Government have filed a court brief in New York this week, arguing that an earlier ruling by three federal appeals court justices was mistaken in deciding that the US law against racketeering cannot go after racketeers outside US territory, in Russia.
by John Helmer - Friday, November 26th, 2010
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By John Helmer, Moscow If you’re wandering in the desert, and there isn’t enough water to go around, you need to be able to tell your friends at the well from your foes. The ancient Hebrew tribes found that circumcising their members was a particularly reliable device. They didn’t have to punch the Identification Friend […]
by John Helmer - Sunday, November 7th, 2010
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By John Helmer, Moscow US statutes require the registration of American agents who are acting for foreign companies or foreign individuals in an attempt to influence US legislation, political debate, or government decision-making in favour of their clients’ interests. Camouflage and concealment are unlawful, and can verge on espionage in the minds of some US […]
by John Helmer - Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010
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By John Helmer, Moscow Does he or doesn’t he? Is S&M best practice in his management thinking — cutting-edge in the literal sense? Mikhail Prokhorov has a funny way of answering questions about his tastes, and ingratiating himself with reporters at the same time. When interviewed recently by a special reporter for the New York […]
by John Helmer - Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010
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“One oligarch, One divorce, Two abysses”, Pierre-Alexandre Sallier, Le Temps, Geneva, October 30, 2010 — translated from the French In Geneva, the wife of Dmitri Rybolovlev demands half of his wealth of 12 thousand million Swiss francs ($12.1 billion) Their separation plunges Swiss justice into the heart of the battle between the Kremlin and the […]
by John Helmer - Monday, November 1st, 2010
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