Today in Russian Business – March 9, 2011

Ashot Yegiazaryan publicly defends himself in the Moscow Times today against allegations of embezzlement, made, he says, in retaliation for his own contesting of ‘the theft of my stake in the Moskva Hotel through a conspiracy‘, and discusses the ‘sophisticated‘ state of corporate raiding.  Hermitage Capital has filed a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court against the Interior Ministry for abuse of power in permitting a criminal tax investigation against it in 2007, and claims that the investigation was used as ‘a front for the theft of corporate documents‘.  US Vice President Joe Biden’s Russia visit will include attendance at a ‘ceremony‘ in which Aeroflot and Boeing will sign an agreement.  VTB Group has found a way to amass a control stake in Bank of Moscow, despite earlier setbacks and lawsuits: Credit Suisse Group has agreed to sell the company its 2.77% stake.  Moscow will spend a quarter of its 2011 budget (over $12 billion) on infrastructure.  Former Yevroset chairman Yevgeny Chichvarkin says his fears for his safety are such that he may never return to Russia.