THREE OLIGARCHS….

Prosecutors have begun to “arrest” or freeze the personal property of Vladimir Gusinsky, head of the Media Most group, whose television, radio and newspaper outlets have been strongly critical of Kremlin policies and personalities. Gusinsky, arrested in May and facing charges of fraud and embezzlement, could face 5-10 years imprisonment and loss of property if convicted. Prosecutors say they may ask Interpol for help in “arresting” Gusinsky’s foreign assets, including property he is believed to own in Spain and the United Kingdom…. Prosecutors are reportedly considering litigation to overturn the 1995 privatization of metallurgical giant Norilsk Nickel, on the grounds that former Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Potanin conspired with the State Privatization Committee to acquire the property at an artificially low price. A decision to proceed with such a suit would run against President Putin’s pledge to let the privatizations of the 1990s stand. It would also raise questions about the legitimacy and permanence of many other transfers of state assets into private hands…. Boris Berezovsky, who has interests in broadcast and print media, auto manufacture and sales, transportation, and energy, resigned from the State Duma, in protest, he said, of the Duma’s acquiescence in Putin’s centralization of power. A newspaper controlled by Berezovsky published reports that the Russian National Security Council has developed a plan for “total control” and censorship of the media, to be implemented in late August.