BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

28/06/2008

Belarus KGB accused US citizens of "economic espionage"

On June 27, the Committee of State Security (KGB) of Belarus said that it had brought formal charges against the US lawyer Emanuel Zeltser and his secretary Vladlena Funk-Bruskova, who both are held in the Belarus State Security Committee's detention centre, news agency BelaPAN reports.

The KGB investigatory department instituted a criminal case against US citizen Joseph Kay over an article 'economic espionage' and his lawyer Emanuel Zeltser who was charged earlier with 'forgery' of official documents and 'drugs possession'. Zeltser's lawyer said that his client and he would start studying the case material on June 30 and the new charge against Zeltser would not affect the proceedings.

Last month, the Tbilisi City Court in Georgia recognized Joseph Kay as a legitimate executor of the late Georgian billionaire's Badri Patarkatsishvili assets. When Badri Patarkatsishvili died, his assets became the subject of a dispute pitting the widow backed by Boris Berezovsky, against his step cousin, Joseph Kay, who is represented by Emanuel Zeltser.

News agency Interfax learned from the KGB Centre of Information and Public Relations, Emanuel Zeltser is accused of coming crimes over part 2 of article 380 (using fake documents, giving rights, by a group of people by previous concert), part 2 of article 228 (narcotic substances smuggling), part 1 of article 328 (trafficking of narcotics, psychotropic substances and precursors), and part 1 of article 254 (commercial espionage) of the Criminal Code of Belarus.

Moreover, as the agency has learned, detained with Zeltser Russia's citizen Vladlena Funk-Bruskova was charged with committing of crimes over part 2 of article 380 (using fake documents, giving rights, by a group of people by previous concert) and part 1 of article 254 (commercial espionage) of the Criminal Code of Belarus.

The KGB investigatory department also instigated a criminal case against US citizen Joseph Kay on the facts provided by part 1 of article 254 (commercial espionage) of the Criminal Code of Belarus, the KGB press service informs.

Source:

http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=1587

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