Russian investigators have brought embezzlement...
Investigators say the charges were brought against Valery Nosov, the mastermind of a criminal group that also involved former Moscow Region finance minister Alexei Kuznetsov, his wife and president of U.S. RIGroup Janna Bullock and general director of Russian Investment Group LLC Dmitry Kotlyarenko.
Bullock, who was called a "rising real estate titan" by The New York Observer in 2007 and elected to the Board of Trustees of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation the same year, founded RIGroup for real estate transactions in Russia.
Investigators say the gang was engaged in money laundering in 2007-2008, at a time when the Moscow Region, one of Russia"s largest borrowers hit hard by the 2008 economic crisis, was struggling to meet its commitments and prevent default on its obligations.
According to the investigation, the suspects used a structure called the Moscow Region Investment Trust Company to steal regional property and budget funds.