The former head of Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin appealed to great Britain to the specialists of the three companies that needs to launder its reputation and to protect against possible future anti-corruption investigations. This publication reports Quartz.
One of the firms to which you have applied Yakunin, is located in London a company called GPW. One of the main tasks of the firm, was to hide negative publicity about Yakunin in the press. First of all we are talking about anti-corruption investigations of the Russian opposition and founder of the Fund of struggle against corruption (FBK) Alexei Navalny, who in 2013 published a scandalous material about shubohranilische in the estate Yakunin.
As it became known to journalists, GPW & Co concealed assets Yakunin, adding to the chain of holders of the company. The firm allegedly helped the former head of Russian Railways to find a British journalist who previously wrote a negative article about him. Employees also researched the biography of the candidates in the Berlin-based non-profit organization Yakunin “Dialogue of civilizations”. According to the newspaper, the family Yakunin has stopped cooperation with GPW & Co in 2016.
A second British company, law firm Mishcon de Reya, tracked in the press about the former head of Russian Railways. This firm specializiruetsya on the laws of libel and privacy in the UK. Appealing to normative legal acts, lawyers Mishcon de Reya tried to limit the publication about family Yakunin.
In particular, the company helped Yakunin, when British activist Roman Borisovich began to speak publicly about London villas, allegedly bought by Russian oligarchs and officials laundered money.
The investigation of a journalist stopped after Miller got to the mansion, Eden House, purchased by the son, Andrei Yakunin through the Panama company for 4.5 million pounds. After that Mishcon de Reya had sent warnings to journalists, which said unlawful campaign against Yakunin and the violation of the law.
In particular, specialists of the law firm warned the B. and all the other journalists about legal liability, then the discussion of the mansion in the British press stopped, and the London newspaper Ham&High, which had no funds on litigation with lawyers, even removed the material and apologized to Yakunin, the newspaper notes.
A PR company Project Associates, in turn, contributed to his son Andrey Yakunin to “improve his image”. According to one of sources, the employees of the company helped the son of the former head of the Railways to publicly dissociate itself from the activities of the father, so he looked like a successful businessman, and not the son of a Russian politician and friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Among other clients, Project Associates journalists called the government of Hungary and the wife of former Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov –
Elena Baturina.
The material of the publication emphasizes that everything is done Yakunin steps to restore the reputation and its maintenance – is completely standard for people under Putin held a high cash position and then fired.
The representative eks-the head of Russian Railways Grigory Levchenko in response to the request publication stated that GPW does not act as an adviser to Vladimir Yakunin. In turn, Andrei Yakunin confirmed to reporters that a few times he actually spoke with representatives of the GPW, however, refused to explain what exactly is this collaboration.
In June of this year Vladimir Yakunin for the first time in an interview commented on the scandal surrounding his estate in Akulinin, calling it “a small storage room for fur coats” shubohranilische, which previously told the Bulk.
At the same time, the former head of Russian Railways said that in 2015 he “resigned” and was not dismissed. While Putin has categorically denied the information that on its fate in the Railways affected the investigation of the Bulk. “Oh, no, do not make him a hero! It’s not that, you know, influential, thus to create problems to anyone,” – said Yakunin.
Commenting on the publication in the press and on the Internet about the luxury of ownership of his son in London, Yakunin did not agree with the journalist that the house in London for almost five million pounds is “a huge amount of money.” “This is a very large amount,” he corrected the former head of the Railways. “Despite the fact that he bought was, you know, given the credits and everything,” – said Yakunin.
In 2013 on the forum Yaplakal.com photos of the residence, which the author called “cottage Yakunin”. The user who posted the pictures wrote that the cottage is situated on a land area of “a few dozen hectares of forest”, which has dug an artificial “lake”, built a garage for 15 cars, a separate box under the “Maybach”. The publication was soon removed from the website but it was reposted by other bloggers, including opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Later a man who claimed to have built the object, the radio station “Russian news service” told that in the house there is a prayer room, a chapel and a “store fur coats”. The interview was soon removed from the site RSN. Yakunin was at the time ranked ninth in the ranking of the 25 highest paid executives of Russian companies. His total compensation was estimated at $ 15 million.