Russian investigators today brought commercial bribery charges against the chief executive of French banking giant Societe Generale's Russian unit for soliciting a USD 1.5 million bribe from a businessman.
Police detained Rosbank chief executive Vladimir Golubkov yesterday, saying he was suspected of demanding a USD 1.5 million (1.16-billion-euro) bribe from a businessman for extending a loan and signing another loan agreement on favourable terms.
The businessman was to hand over the money through Rosbank senior vice-president Tamara Polyanitsyna.
The businessman tipped off police who organised a set-up, said police, adding that the senior manager Polyanitsyna had agreed to cooperate.
The Moscow-based Investigative Committee said that they had brought charges against both Golubkov and Polyanitsyna.
Rosbank chief executive had received more than USD 1 million dollars in several instalments over 2012-2013.
"Golubkov and Polyanitsyna were detained by law enforcement forces as they were receiving the last part of the solicited sum in the amount of 5 million rubles (USD 159,000)," the investigators said in a statement.
The charges carry a maximum punishment of seven years in prison and a major fine.
The high-profile detentions raised eyebrows in Moscow, with many commentators saying it was virtually unprecedented for a head of a major bank to be caught red-handed while taking a bribe.
Some pointed to a possible set-up, suggesting the Rosbank chief was being forced out of his job.
"Either somebody now has designs on the bank or wants the CEO out of the way," a senior Western banker, requesting anonymity, told AFP yesterday.
"Rosbank chief executive might have been framed," pro-government Izvestia newspaper said in a headline.
Golubkov's lawyer Dmitry Kharitonov complained today that his client was illegally detained.
He said he was detained at noon (0800 GMT) yesterday although official papers say Golubkov was detained only from 7:00 in the morning today (0300 GMT).
"He was detained by police without a protocol and criminal case," Kharitonov said on Echo of Moscow radio.
"He did not eat, did not drink and did not sleep, although they began investigative procedures with him at 6.15 (in the morning)," he added. "This is torture.
