Ringleader Armenian

[Siamanto]

New York Times

March 15 2005

 

Arms Network Is Broken Up, Officials Say

By JULIA PRESTON

 

Published: March 16, 2005

 

 

Law enforcement authorities have broken up a network of international

arms smugglers who sold black-market assault rifles in the United

States and were plotting to import military weapons - including

anti-aircraft missiles and antitank guns - from Eastern Europe,

federal and New York City officials announced yesterday.

 

The arms dealers sold the weapons to a confidential informer working

with the F.B.I. who told them he was buying the arms for Al Qaeda,

said David N. Kelley, the United States attorney in Manhattan, at a

news conference. Mr. Kelley said the dealers were not associated with

any terrorist organization but were selling the weapons to make

money.

 

The officials charged that the arms ring was led by Artur Solomonyan,

an Armenian, and Christiaan Dewet Spies, a South African, who have

been living illegally in New York. In cellphone conversations

secretly recorded by the F.B.I., the men said they intended to buy

the more sophisticated weapons primarily from the Russian military

but also from sellers linked to the armed forces in Ukraine and

Georgia, Mr. Kelley said.

 

Although no terrorists were directly involved, the officials said the

case represented a sobering warning that there were dealers in the

illegal international arms market capable of importing battlefield

weapons to the United States and ready to sell them to terrorists.

 

"These defendants may not have been terrorists themselves, but

they've shown a transparent willingness to do anything with anybody

so long as it generates income for their organization," said Andrew

Arena, a special agent in charge of the Criminal Division of the

F.B.I. in New York.

 

Mr. Kelley unsealed a federal criminal complaint for weapons

trafficking yesterday against 18 people he said participated in the

arms network. The two accused ringleaders and 15 other defendants

were arrested by the F.B.I. and the local police Monday night and

yesterday morning in roundups in New York City, Los Angeles and

Miami, the officials said. The remaining defendant, identified as

Armand Abramian, 27, was being sought in California.

 

Mr. Solomonyan, 26, protested that he was not guilty as he was

escorted yesterday into Federal District Court in Manhattan. "I was

trapped in this thing," he said. "I don't know what's going on." Also

named in the complaint was his brother, Levon, 24.

 

The arrests came after a yearlong investigation in which the

confidential informer secretly recorded hours of conversations with

the defendants, and the F.B.I. taped more than 15,000 calls on seven

telephones, officials said.

 

During the year, they said, the arms ring sold the informer eight

illegal weapons, mostly military assault rifles, including two

AK-47's and an Israeli-made Uzi. The dealers delivered three of the

guns in New York City, three in Los Angeles and two in Fort

Lauderdale, Fla., in transactions that were monitored by the F.B.I.

 

In recent weeks, the defendants made a $2.2 million deal to sell the

informer more powerful, mainly Russian-made weapons, Mr. Kelley said.

They gave the informer photographs of the weapons, which they said

they were holding somewhere in Eastern Europe and were ready to

import by ship to the United States.

 

The photos, which officials displayed yesterday, included images of

two SA-7b Strella surface-to-air heat-seeking anti-aircraft missiles

and a Russian AT-4 Spigot antitank guided missile and launcher.

 

Early in their discussions, Artur Solomonyan told the informer he

could obtain enriched uranium that could be "used in the subway," Mr.

Kelley said. But he said the subject was "never followed up," and

there was no evidence that the arms ring ever trafficked in nuclear

or other weapons of mass destruction. "It never happened," Mr. Kelley

said.

 

Mr. Spies, 33, told the informer that he had ties to the Russian

mafia, the complaint says. But none of the defendants are Russian;

they include people from Georgia, Italy and France, as well as

several Americans. Mr. Kelley said that officials suspected they were

buying arms from "rogue folks within Eastern European military

circles" but that it was still not clear whether they were members of

the military or black marketeers.

 

According to the complaint, the F.B.I. informer began meeting a year

ago with Mr. Spies, whom he had known for several years, and Mr.

Solomonyan.

 

 

The arrests began Monday night, when Mr. Solomonyan and Mr. Spies

went to a meeting with the informer in Manhattan, where they had been

told he would give them false immigration green cards so they could

leave the United States to pick up the promised weapons. Instead,

they were met by F.B.I. and New York police agents.

 

 

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg105343.html

[Armen]

Civil Georgia, Georgia

March 16 2005

 

Georgian Arrested for Alleged Arms Smuggling in U.S.

 

On March 16 Georgian Deputy Interior Minister Bidzina Bregadze

confirmed the reports that a Georgian citizen was part of a group of

suspects arrested in the United States for alleged attempts to import

Russian-made military weapons into the U.S.

 

`The American side is investigating the case and the Georgian side is

not involved [in the investigation],' Bregadze said, but refused to

unveil further details of the case.

 

CNN reported on March 15 that the alleged arm smugglers intended to

import rocket-propelled grenade launchers and shoulder-fired

surface-to-air missiles to the United States. The suspects are mainly

from Armenia, Russia and Georgia, according to CNN.

[MosJan]

http://news.findlaw.com/usatoday/docs/gunl...yah31505ind.pdf

 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA :

-v- :

 

ARTUR SOLOMONYAN, : 922(a)(1)(A), 922(g)(5),

a/k/a “Alex,” 924(m), and 2

CHRISTIAAN DEWET SPIES, :

a/k/a “David,”

IOSEB KHARABADZE, :

a/k/a “Soso,”

JOSEPH COLPANI, :

a/k/a “Joe,”

MICHAEL GUY DEMARE, :

a/k/a “Michel,”

DMITRIY VOROBEYCHIK, : COUNTY OF OFFENSE:

a/k/a “Dima,” New York

NIKOLAI NADIRASHVILI, :

a/k/a “Nikoloz Nadirashvili,”

a/k/a “Nikush,” :

LEVON SOLOMONYAN,

ALLAH McQUEEN, :

RAJAB CHAVIS,

a/k/a “Jabs,” :

a/k/a “Keith Chavis,”

GAREGIN GASPARYAN, :

a/k/a “Garik,”

MICHAEL JIMENEZ, :

a/k/a “Mike,”

SHAWN JONES, :

a/k/a “Luis,”

COREY LNU, :

LEVAN CHVELIDZE,

VATO MACHITIDZE, :

TIGRAN GEVORGYAN,

a/k/a “Tiko,” and :

ARMAND ABRAMIAN,

a/k/a “Armo,” :

Defendants. :

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[Armen]

The Moscow Times

Thursday, March 17, 2005. Issue 3126. Page 3.

 

18 Suspected Arms Smugglers Were 'Amateurs'

 

By Simon Saradzhyan

Staff Writer

 

U.S. Attorney's Office / AP

 

Photographs released by the U.S. Attorney's Office on Tuesday showing

Russian military weapons that it said were to be smuggled into the United

States.

 

 

The 18 suspects in a plot to smuggle portable anti-aircraft missiles and

grenade launchers into the United States were most likely amateur

opportunists caught in a sting operation, experts on Russian organized crime

and arms proliferation said Wednesday.

 

U.S. Attorney David Kelly and FBI Special Agent Andy Arena told a news

conference in New York on Tuesday that authorities had arrested and charged

18 individuals with smuggling weapons into the country from the former

Soviet Union.

 

Five suspects were charged with conspiring to smuggle RPG anti-tank grenade

launchers and anti-aircraft Strela missiles, while the rest were charged

with smuggling machine guns and other weapons. Strela missiles and modified

versions of the grenade launchers could be used to shoot down commercial

airliners -- a threat that last month prompted the United States and Russia

to sign an accord curbing the proliferation of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft

missiles.

 

Most of those arrested were from former Soviet countries, U.S. media

reported, while investigators identified Armenian Artur Solomonyan, 25, and

South African Christiaan Dewet Spies, 33, as the ringleaders.

 

Investigators said the two planned to travel to the former Soviet Union and

deliver missiles to an FBI informer, who had posed as an arms buyer on

behalf of al-Qaida, the Los Angeles Times reported.

 

 

U.S. media reported variously that the weapons were to have been obtained

from federal military arsenals in Chechnya, or from Armenia, Georgia and

Ukraine.

 

In a yearlong sting operation, the FBI informer bought only Kalashnikov, Uzi

and other assault rifles from the suspects, but discussed purchasing a

further $2.5 million-worth of missiles and other weapons. He also promised

to provide the smugglers with green cards to re-enter the United States.

 

Investigators said the informer had taped conversations with the suspects in

which Solomonyan offered to sell him enriched uranium, suggesting it could

be used to build a dirty bomb for detonation on the New York subway, Russian

media reported. But Kelly said none of the defendants appeared to have links

to terrorist groups.

 

The FBI informer had previously worked with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol,

Tobacco and Firearms, helping to bust gunrunners in Miami, the New York Post

reported.

 

"On the whole, this looks pretty small-scale and opportunistic," said Mark

Galeotti, director of the Organized Russian & Eurasian Crime Research Unit

at Britain's Keele University, by telephone Wednesday.

 

"Serious criminals" do not make unsolicited offers to sell uranium, Galeotti

said, adding that in any case, "the United States has a very healthy

underground firearms economy of its own."

 

He said that professional terrorists would be looking to acquire the latest

Igla and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, rather than Soviet-designed

Strelas, as leading airlines would soon be ready to deploy passive defense

systems on their airplanes.

 

Ivan Safranchuk, head of the Moscow office of the Washington-based Center

for Defense Information, said the case looked similar to that of British

businessman Hemant Lakhani, who was suspected of offering to sell a

shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile to a U.S. buyer last year. Lakhani has

denied any wrongdoing and maintained he was trapped in a sting operation.

[Armen]

RFE/RL Armenia Report - 03/17/2005

Thursday 17, March 2005

 

Armenia Reports First Arrests In U.S. Smuggling Probe

 

By Karine Kalantarian

 

Armenia on Thursday officially acknowledged its cooperation with U.S.

law-enforcement authorities that claim to have smashed a weapons

smuggling ring, saying that arrests have been made on Armenian territory

as well.

 

`We are taking relevant measures in connection with that case,' the

deputy chief of Armenia's National Security Service (NSS), Hrachya

Harutiunian, told parliament. `We have already made arrests in the

Republic of Armenia.'

 

Harutiunian refused to reveal the number and identity of the detainees

or give other details.

 

U.S. prosecutors announced on Tuesday the arrest of 18 people in New

York, Los Angeles and Florida on charges of seeking to smuggle

Russian-made heavy weapons into the United States. They said among them

are Armenian nationals, including a 26-year-old man, Artur Solomonian.

 

Harutiunian described Solomonian as the ringleader. `A criminal group

made up of 18 persons has really been arrested,' he said. `It is led by

a citizen of our republic. Also arrested was his brother who too is a

citizen of our republic.'

 

An NSS statement issued late on Wednesday said Solomonian and his

brother Levon were both wanted by the Armenian police for draft evasion.

Harutiunian clarified that they left for the U.S. on student exchange

programs in 1998 and 2000 respectively.

 

The NSS spokesman and other law-enforcement officials earlier declined

to confirm Yerevan's involvement in the investigation. President Robert

Kocharian's spokesman, Viktor Soghomonian, was quoted by the Associated

Press as saying on Wednesday Armenian law-enforcement authorities have

no concrete information about weapons smuggling from Armenia and "are

interested in investigating and bringing to justice members of this

criminal group."

 

The U.S. authorities say the suspects offered to supply potential buyers

with Russian-made grenade launchers, shoulder-fired missiles, machine

guns and other assault weapons from Armenia and other former Soviet

republics. They allegedly showed an FBI informant pictures of those

weapons taken in Armenia.

 

According to Harutiunian, the FBI confiscated some firearms during the

arrests and none of them had Armenian origin. `There is no evidence of

any weapons or ammunition actually shipped from Armenia to the United

States,' he said.

 

The weapons mentioned in the U.S. prosecutors' indictment are used by

both the Armenian armed forces and Russian troops stationed in Armenia.

In 2001, a group of men were arrested on the Armenian-Georgian border

for allegedly trying to smuggle surface-to-air Igla missiles out of

Armenia. The shoulder-fired missiles reportedly belonged to the Russian

military base.

 

(AP-Photolur photo: Russian grenade launchers that were allegedly due to

be smuggled into the United States.)

[Armen]

PRESS REVIEWS

 

`Haykakan Zhamanak' reports on the arrest of at least two Armenian

citizens in New York on charges of plotting to smuggle weapons into the

United States. `The course of the investigation suggests that arrests

will also be made in Armenia under American pressure,' predicts the

paper.

 

But `Hayots Ashkhar' raises questions about the credibility of the

accusations, saying that Artur Solomonian and his brother `could not

have dealt with Armenia at least in the last three or four years.' The

paper points to the fact that both men fled Armenia in 2001 to evade

military service. `It is hard to imagine a more nonsensical thing than

two brothers on the run from Armenia trying to smuggle weapons into the

United States.'

[gamavor]

MICHAEL JIMENEZ

 

I don't know about you guys, but if my surname was JIMENEZ I would have changed it immediately.

 

.

 

18 Suspected Arms Smugglers Were 'Amateurs'

 

I feel good!!! turu-rup-turu-rup, I feel good babe!

[Armen]

"On the whole, this looks pretty small-scale and opportunistic," said Mark

Galeotti, director of the Organized Russian & Eurasian Crime Research Unit

at Britain's Keele University, by telephone Wednesday.

 

"Serious criminals" do not make unsolicited offers to sell uranium, Galeotti

said, adding that in any case, "the United States has a very healthy

underground firearms economy of its own."

style_images/master/snapback.png

 

I love British humor

[skhara]

Well CNN is always politically correct.

style_images/master/snapback.png

 

Thats why they are always liers.

[MosJan]

ՀԱՅԱՍՏԱՆՈՒՄ ԿԱԶՄԱԿԵՐՊՎԱԾ ՀԱՆՑԱԳՈՐԾՈՒԹՅՈՒՆ ՉԿԱ

 

Հայաստանից զենք-զինամթերք չի տեղափոխվել ԱՄՆ

 

Հայաստանյան իրավապահ մարմինները սպայական կազմի ցածր աշխատավարձի դեպքում անգամ կարողացել են բոլոր տեսակի հանցագործությունների բացահայտման բարձր ցուցանիշ ապահովել նախորդ տարվա համեմատությամբ: Լավ աշխատավարձի եւ ժամանակակից տեխնիկական ապահովվածության դեպքում իրավապահներն ավելի բարձր ցուցանիշներ են խոստանում: Ներկայում էլ ՀՀ-ն ԱՊՀ երկրների համեմատ հանցածնության տեսանկյունից գտնվում է անհամեմատ շահեկան վիճակում: Սա էր երեկ ԱԺ պաշտպանության հանձնաժողովի լսումներում հանրապետության ոստիկանապետ Հայկ Հարությունյանի ներկայացրած ՀՀ ոստիկանության վեջին 13 տարիների աշխատանքի մասին հաշվետվության առանցքային միտքը: Այն, իհարկե, շաղախված էր բազմաթիվ թվային ապացույցներով, որոնք էլ Հմայակ Հովհաննիսյանի կարծիքով թվաթղթախեղդ էին արել լսումների մասնակիցներին, բայց չխանգարեցին նրան հարցնել. «Թիկնապահական ինստիտուտի բոլո՞ր այն սափրագլուխներին եք մանրակրկիտ ստուգում, ովքեր Տեցի կրուգում եւ այլուր զբաղվում են հրաձգությամբ եւ ի՞նչ չափանիշներով եք մարդկանց զենք կրելու իրավունք տալիս, երբ հետո պարզվում է, որ նրանք մեկ տաբելային զենքի եւ վեց փամփուշտի փոխարեն ունեն ինքնաձիգներ, գնդացիրներ եւ այլն: Ո՞վ է այն մարդը, ում պատկանում է վրաերթն իրականացրած համերը»:

 

Ի պատասխան Հայկ Հարությունյանը հավաստեց, որ ինքը թվերով խեղդելու նպատակ չուներ եւ դրանք ընդամենը չհորինված անհրաժեշտություն էին մանրակրկիտ վերլուծության համար: Իսկ Հմայակ Հովհաննիսյանի հարցադրումներն ընդամենը պերճախոսություն են, քանի որ թիկնապահական ինստիտուտը պետական մենաշնորհ է եւ այնտեղ ինքնաձիգ գնդացիր չունի ոչ ոք: Ծառայողական զենքի կրման ուղղություններն էլ կարգավորված են, իսկ Արաբկիրում անցկացված սոցհարցման արդյունքներով բնակչության 90 տոկոսն իր անվտանգությունն ապահովված է համարում: Ոստիկանապետի կարծիքով, Տեցի հրաձգությունը հնարավոր է եղել կազմակերպել մեքենաների եւ բջջային հեռախոսների առկայության շնորհիվ, բայց քննության ընթացքին ոչինչ չի խոչընդոտում եւ, ըստ նրա, բոլոր մեղավորները պատժվելու են ու արդեն իսկ իրավապահ մարմինների մեղավոր 5 աշխատակիցներ պատժվել են, երկուսը հեռացվել են աշխատանքից: Իսկ թիկնապահների մասնակցության մասին Հայկ Հարությունյանը տեղեկություն չուներ:

 

Մինչդեռ Հմայակ Հովհաննիսյանը գտնում է, որ լսումների ընթացքում մարմնավաճառների գործունեությանն անդրադարձող օրենսդրության խստացումը կարեւորելն այնքան էլ անհրաժեշտ չէ, քանի որ «այսօր ոչ թե մարմնավաճառներն են անհանգստացնում, այլ այն թիկնապահները, որոնք կրակում են քաղաքի մեջ եւ այն համերների վարորդները, որոնք վրաերթ են կատարում եւ մնում անպատիժ»: Ի դեպ, Հայկ Հարությունյանի տեղեկացմամբ, համերը մոսկվաբնակ գործարար Կարապետ Կարապետյանը գնել եւ գրանցել է իր ազգականի անունով, բայց մեքենան հետագայում վաճառվել ու չի վերագրանցվել նոր տիրոջ անունով եւ հիմա կարեւոր է պարզել, թե ով է եղել ղեկին, քանի որ պատիժը հանրապետության ազգային անվտանգության ծառայության տնօրենի տեղակալ Հրաչյա Հարությունյանը փաստեց, որ իրոք ԱՄՆ-ում ձերբակալված 18 հոգանոց հանցախմբի ղեկավարը ՀՀ քաղաքացի է: Եվ ԱԱԾ-ն քաջատեղյակ է գործընթացին եւ արդեն նշյալ գործով Հայաստանում էլ ձերբակալվածներ կան: Հարությունյանի հավաստմամբ, ՀՀ-ից զենք-զինամթերք դուրս բերման եւ ԱՄՆ տեղափոխելու ապացույցներ չկան: Իսկ օր անց ԱԱԾ-ն հանդես կգա պաշտոնական հայտարարությամբ, որը հանգամանալի տեղեկություններ կպարունակի: Այս տեղեկությունները Հարությունյանը հրապարակեց ի պատասխան Գուրգեն Արսենյանի հարցին:

 

Իսկ Հրանտ Խաչատրյանի հարցին, թե որո՞նք են Հայաստանում կազմակերպված հանցագործության առաջին երեք նախադրյալները, Հրաչյա Հարությունյանը մասնագիտական իր գնահատականներից ելնելով պատասխանեց, որ Հայաստանում կազմակերպված հանցագործություն չկա, քանի որ դրա համար խումբը պետք է լինի մեծ, ունենա կայուն հիմք եւ կապեր կամ ներկայացուցիչներ իշխանական մարմիններում:

 

Լսումներն ԱԺ պաշտպանության հանձնաժողովի ղեկավար Մհեր Շահգելդյանը գնահատեց հանրությանն իրազեկելու եւ խորհրդարանի հետագա աշխատանքների համար անհրաժեշտ տեղեկությունները վերլուծելու լավ հիմք:

 

ՆԱՆԱ ՊԵՏՐՈՍՅԱՆ

[MosJan]

Ukraine Dealers Said to Smuggle Missiles

 

Last Updated:

03-18-05 at 2:19PM

 

Ukrainian weapons dealers smuggled 18 nuclear-capable cruise missiles to Iran and China four years ago, prosecutors said Friday, revealing fresh details of a probe that will test the new government's commitment to cleaning up corruption. Closed-door legal proceedings were under way.

 

The Associated Press reported exclusively Feb. 4 that a government investigation into lucrative illicit weapons sales by officials loyal to former President Leonid Kuchma, who left office in January, had led to secret indictments or arrests of at least six arms dealers accused of selling missiles to Iran and China.

 

Twelve of the missiles went to Iran and six to China, Prosecutor General Svyatoslav Piskun's office said Friday. The Kh55 cruise missiles have a range of 1,860 miles.

 

http://www.kfmb.com/stories/story.7843.html

[MosJan]

FBI AGENT: INVESTIGATION ON ILLEGAL ARMS TRAFFIC CONDUCTED JOINTLY WITH APPROPRIATE ARMENIAN BODIES

 

21.03.2005 08:35

 

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The investigation on the illegal trade in arms in the US was initiated over a year ago and was conducted jointly with the appropriated Armenian bodies, Bryan Parmar, FBI special agent, US’s juridical attaché in the Caucasus stated at today’s press conference in Yerevan. When commenting on the role of Georgia and possibly Azerbaijan, he noted that Georgian specialists also take part in the investigation, while Azerbaijan has nothing to do with it. As for the participation of the Armenian military or the Russian military bases, the FBI agent stated that he possesses no information in this regard but did not rule such a possibility. Agreeing with the statement that no single weapon was taken out from Armenia, the FBI representative stated that there was efficient ground for the arrest of the gang. When answering the question whether Solomonyan’s words were mere bluff, intended for a possibility to earn some money. Mr. Parmar noted that the bargain was not carried through and the arms could fall into wrong hands. “If everything did not go beyond photos we would not pay serious attention to it”, he noted. Mr. Parmar also confirmed that Artur Solomonian mentioned of enriched uranium but did not revert to the topic afterwards. According to the FBI representative, several sources of weapons are located in the Caucasus.

 

<!> Reproduction in full or in part is prohibited without reference to "PanARMENIAN.Net"

[MosJan]

SERGE SARGSIAN: WEAPON DEPOTS IN ARMENIA AND Artsax ALWAYS KEPT UNDER STRICT CONTROL

 

23.03.2005 08:08

 

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The accusations brought against the Armenian citizen, who was wanted by the police, are based on the fact that he was trying to sell arms in the US. Meanwhile the investigation showed that no single weapon was exported from Armenia, Secretary of the Security Council, Defense Minister Serge Sargsian stated today, IA Regnum reports. In his words, the weapon depots in Armenia and Nagorno Artsax were always kept under strict control. “No thefts have been ever registered”, the Minister stated. To remind, Armenian citizen Artur Solomonian and his brother Levon Solomonian were detained on suspicion of arms traffic in the US. They were both wanted by the law enforcers for avoiding the obligatory military service. According to the investigators, the Armenian citizen headed the gang composed of the citizens of Armenia, Georgia and the US.

 

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[kumkap]

its funny how they call jews in this case russians, and in all cases

style_images/master/snapback.png

 

more evidence, if you needed it:

 

--

 

Russia, Israel and Media Omissions

By ALISON WEIR

 

http://www.counterpunch.org/weir02172005.html

 

December 17, 2005

 

As is often the case with AP's coverage of news having to do with Israel, there's a serious omission in its reporting on the Russia-Israel connection even when it involves oil and the United States.

 

The day after the State of the Union Address, two Interpol fugitives attended the "National Prayer Breakfast" held in Washington DC. The day before that, these fugitives from the law were the guests of honor at an hour-long meeting of the International Relations Committee on Capitol Hill, invited by ranking Democrat Tom Lantos (Calif.)

 

You would think it would be hot news when wanted men being hunted by European police suddenly pop up in the US particularly on Capitol Hill and at events attended by the US president.

 

Yet, there was not a single AP story in the US on any of this. [1] Not a single national network television or radio news program even mentioned these facts. In fact, Google and LexisNexis searches four days after these events took place turned up only three newspaper articles on them anywhere in the entire country. [2]

 

Who are these fugitives from the law, wanted by Interpol, who are meeting at the highest levels of the US government? And why didn't we learn of them?

 

Therein lies the story. These two men, it turns out, are just the tips of a colossal iceberg. And this iceberg doesn't just have 90 percent of its mass hidden under water; this iceberg is almost entirely submerged.

 

They are Mikhail Brudno and Vladimir Dubov, Israeli-Russian partners in the giant Russian oil company Yukos. They, along with a number of their cronies, are wanted by Interpol for allegedly bilking Russian citizens out of billions of dollars. To elude Russian prosecution, these men have taken up residence in Israel. [3]

 

As the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz explains: "In recent years Russian authorities began investigating [Yukos], its managers and major stockholders, many of whom are of Jewish origin. The probes caused several of the managers to flee to Israel, and resulted in Khodorkovski's [Yukos CEO] arrest and a Kremlin attack on Yukos."

 

The fact is that Israel is an important factor in the ongoing, nation-shaking power struggle now going on in Russia. Yet AP virtually never reports this connection. For example, a few months ago in a typical AP story on this power struggle, "Report: Russia again charges Berezovsky," [4] Moscow AP Bureau Chief Judith Ingram makes no mention anywhere that Berezovsky is an Israeli citizen, or of his many connections to Israel.

 

Such omissions by AP and large swaths of the American media leave Americans seriously disadvantaged in deciphering what is going on in Russia, and its profound significance for the world.

 

In order to make sense of this Russian power struggle, and to understand its importance to the rest of us, it is necessary to understand the usually omitted Israeli subtext. When this is understood, the friendship of such pro-Israel Congressional leaders as Rep. Lantos to fugitive Russian oil tycoons begins to make sense.

 

To explore this background it is often useful to turn to the Israeli press. In July a major Israeli publication, the Jerusalem Post, carried an article headlined: "Boris Berezovsky: Putin's Russia dangerous for Israel." Before describing what this contained, let us first go into a little of the background.

 

 

 

The Oligarchs

 

Boris Berezovsky is one of seven "oligarchs," as they are known both inside and outside Russia: massively rich, powerful manipulators who through violence, theft and corruption acquired a mammoth percentage (reports range from 70 to 85 percent) of Russia's resources, from its oil to the auto industry to mass media outlets.

 

At the same time, the group steadily gained control over much of the country's political apparatus. Using extraordinary financial resources and insider dealing, the oligarchs handpicked prime ministers and governmental leaders and barely even bothered to do this behind the scenes.

 

In 1997 Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky, one of the group and Russia's sometimes richest man (several of the oligarchs trade the top spot back and forth) told an interviewer before he was arrested and imprisoned by Putin last year:

 

"If we rank all the fields of man's activity by profitability, politics will be the most lucrative business. When we see a critical situation in the government, we draw lots in order to pick out a person from our milieu for work in power." [5]

 

Almost all of these oligarchs, it turns out, have significant ties to Israel. In fact, Berezovsky himself has Israeli citizenship a fact that caused a scandal of Watergate proportions in Russia in 1996 when it was exposed by a Russian newspaper. [6]

 

Do Berezovsky's dual loyalties really matter? Yes. In the realm of global dominance, Israel's interests and Russia's are considerably divergent. It is in Israel's interests to bring to power a regime in Russia friendly to Israel, rather than the current one under Putin, which Israeli leaders feel is supportive of its enemies. Not long ago, for example, Putin met with Syrian leaders an action highly disturbing to Israel.

 

Having an Israeli citizen at the highest levels of the Russian government is ideal, from Israel's point of view. In Berezovsky they had such a man. The Jerusalem Post article mentioned above is revealing. It describes Berezovsky as "the Godfather of the Oligarchs' and Kingmaker of Russia's Politics'" and reports Berezovsky's statement that "Putin's Russia is dangerous for Israel." Berezovsky goes on to assert that Putin "supports terror" in the Middle East through Russia's previous relations with Iraq and current relations with Iran. [7]

 

While Israelis may have been delighted at Berezovsky's position in Russia, It is not surprising that Russian citizens were somewhat less so. Finding that a powerful leader and member of the Russian Security Council was an Israeli citizen was disconcerting, at best.

 

As a result of the media uproar over Berezovsky's Israeli citizenship and other events, the Oligarchs' connections to Israel are widely known in Russia and elsewhere. In Israel they are covered frequently, often with adulation, including a recent hit Israeli TV series called "The Oligarchs."

 

"Some of its episodes," according to Israeli writer Uri Avnery, "are simply unbelievable or would have been, if they had not come straight from the horses' mouths: the heroes of the story, who gleefully boast about their despicable exploits. The series was produced by Israeli immigrants from Russia."

 

Avnery writes that the oligarchs used "cheating, bribery and murder," as they "exploited the disintegration of the Soviet system to loot the treasures of the state and to amass plunder amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars. In order to safeguard the perpetuation of their business, they took control of the state. Six out of the seven are Jews." [8]

 

According to a Washington Post story by David Hoffman, the group bought and controlled Russian governmental officials at the highest levels. After financing Yeltsin's election in 1996, Hoffman writes: "The tycoons met and decided to insert one of their own into government. They debated who and chose [Vladimir] Potanin, who became deputy prime minister. One reason they chose Potanin was that he is not Jewish, and most of the rest of them are, and feared a backlash against the Jewish bankers." [9]

 

In Russia, the oligarchs are deeply loathed, considered villains who worked to bleed the country dry; during their reign many Russian citizens saw their life savings disappear overnight. A new term was coined for their dominance, "semibankirshchina" (the rule of the seven bankers), and they were widely known to have wielded small, murderous armies. There are rumors that Berezovsky, subject of the respectful AP article, was even responsible for the gunning down of an American journalist, Forbes Moscow editor Paul Klebnikov.

 

While no one has been charged with the murder of Klebnikov, who had written a book on Berezovsky, many suspect a Berezovsky connection. As a friend of Klebnikov wrote: "Experienced expatriates in Russia shared an essential rule: Don't cross these brutal billionaires, ever, or you're likely to go home in a box." [10]

 

 

 

The Chechnya Connection

 

There is evidence that Berezovsky's responsibility for death and tragedy may be vastly greater.

 

"Berezovsky boasts that he caused the war in Chechnya," Avnery reports, "in which tens of thousands have been killed and a whole country devastated. He was interested in the mineral resources and a prospective pipeline there. In order to achieve this he put an end to the peace agreement that gave the country some kind of independence. The oligarchs dismissed and destroyed Alexander Lebed, the popular general who engineered the agreement, and the war has been going on since then.

 

"In the end," Avnery writes, "there was a reaction: Vladimir Putin, the taciturn and tough ex-KGB operative, assumed power, took control of the media, put one of the oligarchs (Mikhail Khodorkovsky) in prison, caused the others to flee (Berezovsky is in England, Vladimir Gusinsky is in Israel, another, Mikhail Chernoy, is assumed to be hiding here.)"

 

Yet, apart from the Washington Post, American media report on almost none of this. Instead, US coverage largely portrays Berezovsky and his crowd as American-style entrepreneurs who are being hounded by a Russian government whose actions are, to repeat the media's commonly used phrase, "politically motivated."

 

US news stories, even when they occasionally do hint at questionable practices, tend to use such phrases as "brash young capitalists" to describe the oligarchs. [11] For example, a long series co-produced by FRONTLINE and the New York Times referred to these men as "shrewd businessmen," and asked "what it's like to be young, Russian and newly affluent?" [12] Massive violence, dual loyalties, and control of resources are rarely, if ever, part of the picture.

 

When AP Moscow bureau chief Ingram was asked for this article about Berezovsky's Israeli citizenship, she claimed to know nothing about it, a curious contention for someone who has been an AP news editor in Moscow since 1999. When Ingram was queried further, she hung up the phone.

 

An examination of Ingram's reporting on the Berezovsky story cited above raises serious questions. Though she is located in Moscow, Ingram interviewed only two people for her news story: Berezovsky, who is in London, and Berezovsky associate Alex Goldfarb, in New York. One wonders why she interviewed none of the Russians residing around her.

 

Similarly, one wonders why not a single AP story has identified Berezovsky's considerable connection to Israel.

 

Further, nowhere does Ingram's article convey the ruthlessness of the oligarchs' actions, or the significance of their holdings, including control of its media. Unnoted in Ingram's report is the fact that her subject and fellow oligarch Vladimir Gusinsky have been two of Russia's most powerful media tycoons.

 

Before Putin's crackdown, according to the Washington Post, oligarchs had succeeded in seizing "the reins of Russia's print and broadcast media, vital to the evolution of the country's fledgling democracy and growth of its nascent civil society." Berezovsky crony Gusinsky, who is close friends with Rupert Murdoch and was about the launch a satellite network, fled to Israel when it appeared he would be arrested." [13]

 

Somehow, AP's bureau chief seems to have missed all this.

 

 

 

Does this matter to Americans?

 

AP is the major news source for the thousands of news outlets around the country who cannot afford to have their own foreign correspondents. When AP chooses not to cover something, its omission is felt throughout the nation. When national news networks and others leave out the same facts, the cover-up is almost total.

 

Russia, despite its current turmoil, contains enormous power. Its natural resources are gargantuan: it possesses the world's largest natural gas reserves, the second largest coal reserves, and the eighth largest oil reserves. It is the world's largest exporter of natural gas, the second largest oil exporter, and the third largest energy consumer.[14] Russia's significance on the world stage now, as in the past, is immense.

 

Similarly, the United States is currently the most powerful nation on earth. It is therefore essential that its citizens be accurately informed on issues of significance. Israeli citizens, Russian citizens, and citizens of nations throughout the world know the information detailed above. It is critical that American citizens be no less well informed.

 

For years, the neocons' push for war against Iraq was largely uncovered by the US media. For even longer, the neocons' close connections to Israel have gone largely unmentioned in mainstream American news reports. As a result, very few Americans know to what degree many of those responsible for the tragic US invasion and occupation of Iraq have been motivated by Israeli concerns.

 

The omission in coverage of Iraq has been profoundly disastrous, both for the Middle East and for Americans. In fact, it is quite likely that only history will show the true extent of this disaster. It is deeply troubling to see the same kind of omission occurring on Russia.

 

Alison Weir is Executive Director of If Americans Knew

 

 

 

[1] Interestingly, an AP report sent out only on its Worldstream wire (i.e. to Europe; Britain; Scandinavia; Middle East; Africa; India; Asia; England, but not to US papers) contained information on this at the end of the report.

 

[2] Washington Post: "Prayer Breakfast Includes Russian Fugitives" (overall, the Post has been an exception to the general blackout on this subject); the Seattle Times, which ran the Post story, and the New York Times, in a short story on page 12 on Sunday, three days after the event. Interestingly, the NY Times story was filed from Moscow (not Washington) and quotes a "spokesman" for the two men, Charles Krause, who has worked as a correspondent in Israel for the News Hour with Jim Lehrer. In the Times story Russian attempts to prosecute these men are described as "politically motivated."

 

[3] This is a wise move, since Israel is known for never extraditing Jewish citizens, no matter what their crime. Even requests for such cooperation by the US, which gives Israel over $10 million per day, go unheeded by the Israeli government. Private citizens wanted for committing murder in the US, for example, are not returned for trial.

 

[4] Associated Press, Sept. 22, 2004

 

[5] "Tycoons Take the Reins in Russia," By David Hoffman, Washington Post Foreign Service, Friday, August 28, 1998; Page A01

 

[6] "Media and Politics in Transition: Three Models," Post-Soviet Media Law & Policy Newsletter, Issue 35, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Feb. 27, 1997

 

[7] "Boris Berezovsky: Putin's Russia dangerous for Israel.', Bret Stephens, The Jerusalem Post, July 5, 2005

 

[8]" The Oligarchs", Uri Avnery, CounterPunch, Aug. 3, 2004

 

[9] "Tycoons Take the Reins in Russia," By David Hoffman, Washington Post Foreign Service, Friday, August 28, 1998; Page A01,

 

[10] "Same Old Ruthless Russia," by Michael R. Caputo, Washingtonpost.com

 

[11] Washington Post, Aug 28, 1998

 

[12] October 2003, Sabrina Tavernise,

 

[13] "Powerful Few Rule Russian Mass Media," David Hoffman, Washington Post, March 31, 1997; Page A01

 

[14] http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/russia.html

[MosJan]

AUTHORITIES OF ARMENIA HAND OVER ARMEN BARSEGHYAN TO U.S. AUTHORITIES

 

YEREVAN, APRIL 18. ARMINFO. On April 15 the authorities of the Republic of Armenia handed over Armen Barseghyan to U.S. authorities. It should be noted that Armen Barseghyan is accused of conspiracy for attempt of import of contraband weapon to into the territory of the United States.

 

ARMINFO was informed in the U.S. Embassy of Armenia, Spokesman of the U.S. Office of Lawyers stated that this week Barseghyan will stand along with other 20 detainees on this case. The resource mentions that this case proves about the close cooperation and the development of the relations of the United States and Armenia in law-enforcement sphere. The U.S. Embassy in Armenia, in particular, expressed gratitude for the assistance in the investigation to General Prosecutor of the Republic of Armenia Aghvan Hovsepian and Director of National Security Service Gorik Hakopian

[MosJan]

Armenia Extradites Suspect in US Arms Smuggling Probe

 

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--Armenian law-enforcement authorities have extradited a man suspected of involvement in an alleged attempt to smuggle heavy weapons into the United States, the US embassy in Yerevan announced on Monday.

 

An embassy statement said Armen Barseghian was flown to the US on Friday and will appear before a New York court this week along with 20 other defendants that have been indicted in connection with the case.

 

The latter were arrested in New York, Los Angeles, and Florida last month following an undercover operation conducted by the FBI. Their alleged ringleader is Artur Solomonian, a 26-year-old Armenian citizen wanted in Armenia for draft evasion. He is accused of looking for buyers of Russian-made shoulder-fired missiles, grenade-launchers and other weapons used by the Armenian military.

 

US prosecutors showed photographs of those weapons which Armenia's National Security Service (NSS) say were taken by a Yerevan-based friend of Solomonian, identified as Spartak Yeribekian.

 

The arrests of Yeribekian and two other residents of Armenia were announced on March 21. It was not clear if the extradited man was one of them.

 

Law-enforcement sources said that Barseghian is an Armenian-born American citizen who illegally returned to Armenia in the mid-1990s to escape prosecution in the US. A New York newspaper reported that US prosecutors believe Barseghian is the man who allegedly photographed the weapons at a military base in Armenia.

 

"This case highlights the cooperation on law enforcement issues which is developing between the US and the Republic of Armenia," the US embassy said. "We commend the continued professionalism of the Armenian authorities who have been instrumental in supporting this ongoing investigation."

 

A senior FBI investigator who visited Yerevan last month likewise praised Armenian security agencies for their "active cooperation" in the probe.

[Arpa]

And, once again another "ärmenian" caught with hands in the "cokie" jar?

Please read carefully and tell us when a name like "bobook aghakhani" became an ethnic Armenian.

Yes, we know that his last leg was Yerevan. Just like the stories above. Does not he sound any of the following or more, Irani, Pakistani or Afghani? One thing is sure. His name is not Haik Armenian, or Armen Haikazian!!! Simply because mehmet kabuli''s iteneraray shows their last stop Yerevan they would be identified as "armenian"? Are mahmood karzai or ayatollah khomeini armenian?

INTERNATIONAL TRAVELER CAUGHT WITH 4.7 KILOGRAMS OPIUM AT O'HARE

Homeland Security Department Documents and Publications

May 12, 2009

Chicago - On May 9, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers

working at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport seized 4.7 kg of

opium discovered in the checked baggage of an arriving passenger from

Armenia via London. The seizure resulted in the arrest of a United

States citizen.

 

CBP officers encountered passenger, Boobook Aghakhani, a 44-year-old

U.S. citizen traveling from Armenia, who transited through London's

Heathrow Airport to Chicago O'Hare onboard United Airlines flight

#959 which arrived Saturday evening. Upon primary examination by CBP

officers at O'Hare, CBP officers identified Aghakhani as a potential

high risk for smuggling narcotics and he was referred for a baggage

exam.

 

O'Hare CBP officers seized 4.7 kg of opium from a hidden compartment

in the passenger's suitcase.

 

During the examination of Aghakhani's checked bag, x-ray revealed

inconsistencies in the bottom side of the suitcase. CBP officers then

discovered a hidden false sided compartment located on the bottom

side of the suitcase. The area was probed resulting in the discovery

of a brownish-black sticky substance that field tested positive for

opium. The false side of the suitcase was disassembled resulting in

the discovery and seizure of 4.7 kg of opium.

 

"CBP has an 'all threats' mission including the successful detection

and identification of all forms of illegal narcotics," said David

Murphy, CBP Director of field operations in Chicago. "Our CBP officers

make use of a wide variety of tools and technology to ferret out

unique deep concealment methods which result in positive outcomes

such as with this arrest."

 

Aghakhani was arrested and turned over to agents from U.S. Immigration

and Customs Enforcement. He was subsequently charged by the Cook

County States Attorney's Office with possession of a controlled

substance with intent to deliver. Earlier today a Cook County Judge

set his bond at $100,000 cash and continued his case to June 5 for a

preliminary hearing. If convicted Aghakhani faces a maximum sentence

of 30 years in prison.

 

[MosJan]

yete 10 taruts aveli azeri shanordiq sut lurer eyin taratsum te hayastan 7 artsaxov t@mranuyut e teghapoxvum, apa iys verchi mi qani amisneri mi qani manramitneri patjarov da past e darnum..