The BBC has published a major new investigation of corrupt deals conducted by Kremlin-backed Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich that even include linking him to the kidnapping of a Chinese businessman.
In particular, the BBC has found that Abramovich made his fortune as an oil baron through the help of a rigged 1995 auction for Sibneft, the oil company that is now the largest petroleum producer in Russia and is now known as Gazprom Neft.
Former Russian prosecutor Yuri Skuratov explained to the BBC how Abramovich corruptly acquired Sibneft.
"Basically, it was a fraudulent scheme, where those who took part in the privatization formed one criminal group that allowed Abramovich and Berezovsky to trick the government and not pay the money that this company was really worth," he said.
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The most explosive part of the BBC's report involves the kidnapping of a Chinese businessman who was representing a firm that had planned to make a bid for another Russian oil company called Slavneft.
Although the Chinese firm in question was prepared to bid twice as much for Slavneft as Abramovich and his allies, the company "had to withdraw from the auction after one of its representatives was kidnapped upon arrival at Moscow Airport and was released only after the company declared its withdrawal," according to a leaked document reviewed by the BBC.
However, the BBC is quick to point out that "there is no suggestion that Mr Abramovich knew anything about the kidnapping plot, or played any part in it."
