This week the Wall Street Journal broke a pretty big story: Russia’s Minister of Telecommunications is alleged to illegally own a large chunk of the country’s telecom industry through offshore accounts in the British Virgin Islands. The report states that the BVI police has told the U.S. Department of Justice that there is “overwhelming evidence” that Mr. Leonid Reiman, a close friend and ally of Vladimir Putin, owns these assets through the IPOC International Growth Fund Ltd., a fund that suspected of being a huge money laundering vehicle. This is not the first time Mr. Reiman has been involved in controversy. More info after the jump; more info forthcoming. UPDATE: The FT has just weighed in also (see below)