FBIS4-42499
"drweu108_h_94005"
FBIS-WEU-94-108
Daily Report
3 Jun 1994
GERMANY
Russian Army Leaves Behind Crime `Bridgeheads'
Russian Army Leaves Behind Crime `Bridgeheads'
AU0406142394 Berlin DIE WELT in German 3 Jun 94 p 1
AU0406142394
Berlin DIE WELT
German
BFN
[Report by Peter Scherer: "Russians Leave Behind `Criminal
Bridgehead'"]
[Excerpts] Frankfurt/Main -- Even after the complete
withdrawal of the Western Group of the Red Army from Germany,
the criminal structures built up by leading military personnel
of the Russian Armed Forces will continue to exist. This is the
conclusion drawn by German security authorities.
In an analysis of East European criminal organizations, the
German authorities speak of "firmly established bridgeheads of
organized crime," whose "business will continue to thrive." The
German authorities have found that, as far as personnel and
logistics are concerned, these structures will be preserved as a
result of many years of criminal cooperation between members of
the Western Group and exiled Russian and Georgian criminals.
The criminal machinations, which are controlled by leading
military personnel -- including numerous generals -- have
meanwhile also become a matter of investigations in Moscow.
Yuriy Boldyrev, the former head of the control administration
of the Russian president, accused "leading personnel of the
trade administration of the Western Group" of having transferred
17 million German marks [DM] to bank accounts in the United
States, Switzerland, and Finland. Moreover, DM48 million were
granted in bank guarantees, without any reason, to 13 foreign
companies. At least three enterprises that have connections
with the Western Group used these guarantees to withdraw DM13
million from the trade administration's clearing account without
supplying any goods. [passage omitted]
One of the most important trade partners of the Western
Group
is an agent in Antwerp with an estimated annual turnover of DM2
billion. Police suspect that the heads of the company are
involved in the international narcotics business and have close
connections with the Russian mafia in Germany and the United
States.