A wealthy Russian lawmaker has fled with his family to the United States, saying he fears assassination over accusations that some of Russia's richest and most influential people swindled him in a real estate deal. Back home, he's been charged with financial crimes.
Ashot Egiazaryan says he is considering seeking asylum in the US But after suing a Russian billionaire and several former business partners including a close friend of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Moscow's former mayor he said he doesn't feel safe even in this country.
"I do think it's possible than an assassination attempt can be mounted against me here," he said flanked by lawyers in a conference room a few blocks from the White House. The interview with The Associated Press was his first with Western media and came a few weeks after one of his relatives was gunned down in the Russian city of Astrakhan on December 7, an attack he claims is connected with his lawsuit.
The struggle over the Moskva Hotel, a prime piece of Moscow real estate, is now being waged in a civil court in Cyprus, the London Court of International Arbitration, on the Web and on Capitol Hill. It provides a rare insider's view of the often ruthless world of money, power and politics in Russia, where wealth and connections can sometimes trump property rights and the rule of law.
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