Russian investigators suspect that some of opposition lawmaker Gennady Gudkov’s business dealings ran afoul of the law, Russia's Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told reporters on Wednesday.
"The results of recent investigations into Duma deputy Gudkov’s activities reveal that he has been engaged in illegal business dealings both with Russian commercial organizations and foreign companies," Markin said. The businesses include the Bulgaria-registered English Village and the Business Consultancy Limited, registered in the offshore zone of Gibraltar, he said.
Earlier Markin said the Investigative Committee decided to launch an inquiry into Gudkov’s investments in Bulgaria based on “electronic mails sent to the committee by Bulgarian citizen Ivailo Zartov,” who claims to be the managing director of English Village.
Markin explained that the inquiry was needed so investigators could decide whether or not to open a criminal case against Gudkov. He did not say on Wednesday whether or not investigators have decided to press charges.
Gudkov, a deputy with the A Just Russia party and one of the best-known leaders of the recent opposition protests in Russia, has consistently denied running a business in Bulgaria. “I was not personally involved in commercial activities, especially in Bulgaria," Gudkov told RIA Novosti. "My only investment in that country is buying beer and paying for a ride in the amusement park." Gudkov said the case against him is politically motivated.
In recent weeks the deputy has complained that the authorities have been putting pressure on members of his family since he became an outspoken critic of the Kremlin. Last week, Gudkov told RIA Novosti that police officers tried to detain his wife Maria Gudkova for questioning as she stepped out of her plane at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport. Last month, Moscow police asked a court to strip a private security firm, Pantan, controlled by Gudkov’s relatives, of its license.
