Broadcaster sure information in Tuesday documentary about Skrynnik is truthful
MOSCOW. Nov 28 (Interfax) - The Russian State Television and Radio Company doesn't doubt the truthfulness of information reported in an expose documentary by Alexander Rogatkin shown on Russia-1 channel on Tuesday.
"We are 100% sure that all the materials shown in the film are reliable. Moreover, the author is ready to prove the truthfulness of every fact stated in the film in court," Interfax was told at the company's press service on Wednesday.
On Tuesday in the framework of its "Special Correspondent" project, Russia-1 showed a film exposing financial machinations at the Rosagroleasing state-owned company at the time when Yelena Skrynnik, later the Russian Agriculture Minister, led the firm.
Filmmakers claim that in those days her closest colleague, Oleg Donskikh, was the company representative in the provinces and "that particular period cost the company billions."
"By now we have filed over 1,000 lawsuits for the return of loans totaling some 39 billion rubles," first deputy director of Rosagroleasing Lyudmila Pridanova said on the documentary.
"The scheme was such: private farms were given loans to purchase harvesters, grain storage facilities and barns. However, now there is no money, no barns," the author of the film said.
It was claimed that Rosagroleasing's money was transferred to the account of a British company selling farm machinery.
"If you trace the story, to where it [money] was channeled, among other places it went to the Brice-Becker company that Yelena Borisovna Skrynnik personally founded," advisor of Rosagroleasing CEO Yevgeny Zelensky said in the film.
"Money was also transferred to the accounts of another company related to Skrynnik - AgroEvroSoyuz which was supervised by her deputy and brother, racing driver Leonid Novitsky," the film claimed.
It noted that investigators have been unable to question Skrynnik.
"Letters were sent summoning her to an interrogation but unfortunately she ignored them," an unnamed section head of the Interior Ministry economic security department said on the show.
The film-makers said Skrynnik sent a letter to investigators saying that recently she gave birth to two babies and is in a family clinic abroad and therefore can by no means attend the interrogation.
"According to Interpol information, the family home of the former minister in France is worth tens of millions of Euros and formally belongs to small children," the program said.
