MOSCOW, October 18 (Itar-Tass) — The State Duma commission for control over lawmakers' incomes and property will review the materials on alleged business of eight deputies: six members of the ruling United Russia party and two members of the Liberal Democratic Party /LDPR/.
According to the draft agenda, the Commission will consider checking Grigory Anikeyev, Nikolai Bortsov, Vladimir Pligin, Airat Khairulin, Gadzhimet Safaraliyev /all from united Russia/ and Yuri Napso and Sergei Furgal /both from the LDPR/. It will also check deputy Alexei Knyshov.
The previous meeting of the commission led by Vladimir Vasilyev /United Russia/ took place on October 9. It postponed the review of the materials on Anikeyev, Khairullin, Pligin and Bortsov. Reports said Bortsov had promised to show notary-signed documents on the stakes in companies which he had inherited and had not handed over for trust management yet.
Also on Thursday, the commission is expected to launch checks into alleged business by two Communist lawmakers - Vadim Potomsky and Anatoly Lokot.
At present, it is continuing the check into the materials on Yelena Nikolayeva, Ilya Kostunov and Alexei Knyshov.
Knyshov's case might be the most high-profile.
"According to available information, Knyshov, in the period from September 17, 2010, through August 30, 2012, was a member of a governing body, i.e. he was a member of the board of directors of the commercial organization Inbister s.r.o., Bratislava, which he had jointly founded with Russian citizen Kirsanov in the Slovak republic as a limited liability company," Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told Itar-Tass earlier this week.
"In addition, Knyshov is presently registered as a founder or co-founder of 12 commercial firms in Russia," the spokesman said.
The Federal Tax Service said Knyshov, until December 21, 2011, was director of two companies had had founded: the Don Group of Construction Companies, and the Rostovstroimaterialy production association.
"The investigators, on the strength of the obtained data, believe that State Duma deputy Knyshev violated provisions of the Russian Constitution and the federal law on the status of the member of the Federation Council and the status of the State Duma lawmaker, according to which the State Duma lawmaker has no right to engage in business or any other paid activity, or be on a governing body of an economic entity or any commercial organization," Markin underlined.
"If we receive these materials /from the Investigative Committee/, I hope will be able to review them at the next meeting of the commission /on October 18/," its chairman Vladimir Vasilyev told-Tass.
On September, 27, Knyshov told reporters after the meeting of the commission that he had never been a director general."
"They claimed I was director general; but I was not," the parliamentarian said.
He noted that such a company did exist and that he had co-founded it. Knyshev assured he had submitted documents to the commission confirming that he had never been on the governing body of the company and had never received a cent of profit.
Knyshev's stake in the company was handed over to trust management back in the middle of 2011.
On September 14, the State Duma stripped deputy head of A Just Russia faction Gennady Gudkov of his lawmaker's mandate, who had engaged in entrepreneurship contrary to the status of deputy.
Vasilyev's commission handled the Gudkov case. It used the materials by the Investigative Committee to oust the parliamentarian.
Meanwhile, Gudkov's colleagues and associates sent materials to the State Duma leadership on six representatives of United Russia with the claims similar to those made against Gudkov. Knyshev was on the list.
On September 20, the Commission announced the results of the check into the activity of five United Russia lawmakers conducted at the request of Yabloko leader Sergei Mitrokhin. Vasilyev said the issue regarding four United Russia members – Vladislav Reznik, Ivan Demchenko, Oleg Lebedev and Adam Delimkhanov had been closed and that the Commission had recognized their explanations as valid.
Leader of the United Russia faction Andrei Vorobyov earlier assured that if a check with respect to faction members confirmed their involvement in business, they would lose their mandate.