Russian security services know nothing of gang allegedly linked with singer Leps - source
MOSCOW. Nov 1 (Interfax) - Russian security services' databases contain no reference to Brotherly Circle, an alleged crime ring to which, the U.S. authorities believe, Russian pop singer Grigory Leps belongs, a source in Russia's law enforcement agencies told Interfax on Friday.
"In the wake of media reports claiming Leps's inclusion by the U.S. Treasury Department on its blacklists on suspicion of involvement with the Eurasian criminal syndicate Brotherly Circle, we have checked all of our databases, but have not come across such a group," he said.
This information is apparently intended to maintain the myth about the so-called Russian Mafia, which allegedly operates abroad, he said.
"Even the name itself - Brotherly Circle - includes an element of mystery, a hint at some secret lodge. All this strongly resembles a publicity stunt," the source said.
It was reported last night that the U.S. Treasury Department had announced the inclusion in control lists of six people on suspicion of membership in the Eurasian criminal syndicate Brotherly Circle: Artur Badalyan, Grigory Lepsveridze, Vadim Lyalin, Sergei Moskalenko, Yakov Rybalsky, and Igor Shlykov. These people are suspected of connections with people named Vladislav Leontyev and Gafur Rakhimov, who are considered to be influential members of criminal groups and have been on the U.S. sanctions lists since February 2012.
According to the U.S. Department of Finance, Lyalin and Shlykov have Russian passports, Moskalenko is a citizen of Uzbekistan, and Rybalsky is a citizen of Israel. The U.S. Department of Finance did not state the citizenship of Badalyan and Lepsveridze, stating Thailand as Lepsveridze's country of residence. The U.S. authorities are accusing Lepsveridze of working as a courier for Leontyev.
In 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama classified the syndicate Brotherly Circle as "a significant transnational organized criminal group" and ordered the U.S. Department of Finance to sabotage their global criminal operations.
The inclusion of a person in the blacklists of the U.S. Department of Finance leads to the blocking of this person's assets in the U.S. and a ban on business contacts with him for people who live in the U.S.
Grigory Leps is a well-know performer, composer, producer, an Honored Artist of Russia.
