Today in Russian Business

Hermitage Capital claims it has been the victim of an attempted fraud and theft of hundreds of millions of dollars by individuals connected to the Russian Interior Ministry. Documents seized by the Interior Ministry during a tax investigation were later allegedly used to engineer a complex fraud intended to extort $367 million from the fund. One newspaper calls the case “another reminder of the risks” of doing business in Russia. Globaltrans Investment, Russia’s biggest non-state rail shipper, is planning an initial public offering in London this summer. Russian Technologies Corp., a state holding company, plans to form 33 divisions and hold initial public offerings for most. Eurasian Natural Resources, the Kazakh ferrochrome producer that started trading in London in December, completed its $210 million acquisition of Russian alloy producer Serov. Billionaire Alisher Usmanov sold his 19.5% stake in Australian iron ore producer Mt. Gibson Iron. Sberbank is considering acquiring a large east European bank as part of its global expansion plan.