Vladimir Kumarin

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Vladimir Kumarin is a Russian businessman, vice president of the city-owned St. Petersburg Fuel Company (PTK), and allegedly the boss of the Tambov organized crime group of the Russian Mafia.

The book Die Gangster aus dem Osten or "Gangsters From the East,"[1] links Vladimir Putin to alleged mobster Kumarin (who has since changed his name to Barsukov) through Vladimir Smirnov, the former head of SPAG's St. Petersburg operations and an old associate of the president.

In 1994, as deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, Putin awarded the St. Petersburg Fuel Company, or PTK, the highly prized right to be the sole supplier of gasoline to the city. At the time, Smirnov was a major shareholder in PTK and local media reported that the company was controlled by the Tambov. In 1998, Smirnov took over PTK and appointed Kumarin/Barsukov as his deputy.[2]

In June 2003, the magazine Der Spiegel mentioned that, according to the German ministry of criminal affairs, the German firm SPAG had fallen under suspicion of being involved in a money laundering scheme with connections to Kumarin. Putin was an advisor to this firm over the course of seven years.[3] It has been suggested that Kumarin maintains good relations to Russian politicians Mikhail Glushenko and Alexander Filatov.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Die Gangster aus dem Osten, Europa Verlag Publishers
  2. ^ Segodnya Daily Newspaper (Russian), January 10, 2001
  3. ^ Der Spiegel, June 2003


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