Today in Russian Business – Nov 10, 2010

The Moscow Times reports that following last week’s raid at his National Reserve Bank, Alexander Lebedev has sent a letter to Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev amongst others asking them to prevent the police from interfering with his business interests.  Russia’s huge number of migrant workers (12.3 million) make it one of the world’s largest cash exporters, says a new World Bank report.  Sberbank has purchased almost 75% of lottery company Sportloto.  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has complained that the US has failed to provide an explanation for why billionaire Oleg Deripaska has repeatedly been denied a US visa.  Russia could be ready to join the World Trade Organization by the end of 2011 at the earliest, the European Union’s chief trade negotiator has informed reporters.  Rencap predicts that next quarter Russia’s economy may enjoy its quickest growth since 2008.