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MP Gudkov says SK charges are another stage in campaign against his family

He said he was afraid some dubious or provocative means might be used against his family

MOSCOW, August 6 (Itar-Tass) —— Lawmaker with the A Just Russia party Gennady Gudkov says accusations of illegal business activities are absolutely ungrounded.

“It is a stage-by-stage campaign. Stage one was to ruin my business. Now it is stage two. Stage three, as far as I know, will be a blow on Dmitry Gudkov [Gennady Gudkov’s son and also a member of the State Duma lower parliament house – Itar-Tass],” he told Itar-Tass on Monday. He said he was afraid some dubious or provocative means might be used against his family.

Earlier in the day, Russia’s Investigations Committee (SK) submitted to the Prosecutor General’s Office and the State Duma lower parliament house materials evidencing that lawmaker Gennady Gudkov violated law banning state servants to engage in business activities. Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told Itar-Tass that these materials prove that in September 2008 Gudkov purchased a stake in the company Kolomensky Stroitel [dominating the marker in the Moscow region – Itar-Tass] and that he receives incomes from Roshan OOO.

According to Markin, investigators claim lawmaker Gudkov has violated the Russian constitution and the federal law on the status of a Russian State Duma member, which prohibit a lawmaker to engage in any entrepreneurial and paid activities and to be a managerial body member in a company or a commercial organization.

“A procedural decision will be taken based on the results of the pre-investigation check,” he added. “But already today, the Investigations Committee submitted evidence proving violations of constitutional and legal bans by Gudkov to the Russian prosecutor general and the speaker of the State Duma for decisions in their competences,” Markin said.

According to the spokesman, the Investigations Committee continues the procedural check into Gudkov’s illegal entrepreneurial activities, or into event of the crime under Article 289 of the Russian Criminal Code (illegal participation in business activities, a charge carrying a fine of up to 300,000 roubles, the deprivation of the right to do some concrete activities for a term up to five years, correctional works or even a term of up to two years in prison).

The Russian Investigations Committee launched in late June a pre-investigation probe into an application submitted by Bulgarian national Ivailo Zartov, who claimed that Gudkov was engaged in illegal entrepreneur activity, including in companies registered in Bulgaria and Gibraltar.