By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered a probe into the “illegal” sale of Moscow land intended for foreign embassies to subsidiaries of a company belonging to the wife of a former Moscow mayor.
The Kremlin said Tuesday the land, designated to host embassies of 12 countries in line with inter-governmental agreements signed between 1984 and 1991, was sold to two subsidiaries of Yelena Baturina’s Inteco construction company in 2003.
In 2004, federal property watchdog Rosimushchestvo filed a lawsuit at a Moscow court against Baturina’s company, demanding that a land plot of more than 16 hectares, which the company bought as part of the 2003 deal, is recognised as part of the land designed to host the embassies.
The court dismissed the suit in June.
Medvedev has now ordered Prosecutor General Yury Chaika to check the “legality” of Moscow district authorities’ actions in connection to the 2003 deal, according to the presidential decree published on the Kremlin website.
Baturina is believed to be Russia’s richest woman with an estimated fortune of some $1.1 billion.
In response to the Kremlin’s move, Baturina accused Tuesday the federal authorities of attempts to seize the property she owned legally.