By Yury Gevorkyan
As Reznik says he does not know the purpose of this shake-down. He also insists he has bought the house legally. “United Russia” party’s member also adds he has asked his lawyers to fully cooperate with Spain authorities, and as they inform, the story is already over.
The news about the search in Reznik’s house came at weekend. It was reported Judge Baltasar Garzón issued the warrant. He’s investigating several big cases of the so-called Russian mafia’s business in Spain. Spain media informs some documents and art objects were excepted.
El Pais notes that the night visit is connected to the case of the “Tambov-Malyshev’s gang” which has already caused 20 Russians’ arrest in June 2008. Local media also suppose the lawmaker could have contacted Gennady Petrov – the man who is called the Russian gang leader in Spain.
Reznik says he does not know why Judge Garzon attempted to do all this, and stresses the house has been bought absolutely legally with reference to both countries’ law. He notes his bank has transferred the money from his Moscow account, and this transfer has been written down to the 2004th tax bill.
“The house was bought in full accordance with Russian and Spanish laws. The money was transferred from my Moscow account. I asked my lawyers to provide all documents to the Spanish authorities and cooperate with them. My lawyers say the story is over,” Reznik says.
The Federal Council Foreign affairs Committee Chairman Mikhail Margelov notes Vladislav Reznik has bought this house at Majorca legally and accuses the Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon of a prejudice.
“I know Vladislav Reznik very well. He bought this house not for sale, so his close friends and I know about his house in Spain. Reznik did not keep it in secret. He bought it by all rules, absolutely appropriately,” Margelov said to Interfax news agency on Sunday night.
Speaking of Garzon he underlined that “only Bush and Berluskoni’s persecutor may have a dream of a nest of robbers at that kind of a legal villa.”
“That’s why Reznik and his lawyers still don’t know the purpose of these Baltasar’s actions,” Margelov added. He said “we call people like this Spanish judge lame-brained.”
“He persecutes Pinochet, Bush, Berluskoni; he suggests Zenith FC won the cup by paying its rival, now he dreams of planes going down to Reznik’s villa,” the Russian senator said.
State Duma property committee Chairman Viktor Pleskachevsky comments that western authorities take the liberty of making steps which are hard to understand using any law.”
“Relying on the fact that investigation and actions (connected to some unknown criminal case) were made in the presence of media and Judge Garzon is well-known for his political cases, Pinochet, Berluskoni, Bush stories, for example, you can easily suspect this exact case to become not real but political. Somebody wants to doubt Russian State Duma’s purity,” Pleskachevsky says.
INFO: Vladislav Reznik
Vladislav Reznik is the head of the State Duma Finance Committee. He participated in making the law’s amendments concerning additional crisis actions. He took the charge for the committee in 2004 after the election.
He was also the State Duma Budget Committee Chairman’s deputy and they said he could head the committee, but Mikhail Kasyanov was against. Kasyanov was the Prime Minister at that time and did not like Reznik’s budget ideas.
Madrid authorities have not yet commented the search.
