NAKA in July Detained Russian Businessman Vinogradov

Bratislava, August 14 (TASR) - Slovakia's National Crime Agency (NAKA), based on an international arrest warrant issued by the competent Russian authorities, arrested as early as in July Russian businessman Valentin Vinogradov at the horse races in the town of Samorin (Trnava region), Dennik N daily reported on its website on Monday evening (August 13). According to the daily, Moscow accuses the entrepreneur of committing fraud in the real estate area between 2007-09. Vinogradov is currently in preliminary custody and the case will be examined by the Slovak prosecutor's office immediately after Russia delivers the original dossier concerning the case. According to the information reported by Dennik N, the criminal complaint on Vinogradov was filed by two oligarchs and representatives of a company called Midland Resourced Holding Limited. Its main shareholders were Russian-Canadian billionaire Alex Shnaider and Ukrainian businessman Eduard Shifrin. The company, along with the Russian state bank VEB, was part of the Trump Tower project worth some half a billion euros. This raises concerns about a possible link between Russia's Kremlin and US President Donald Trump, thinks the Financial Times. Vinogradov was supposed to have business disputes with the two oligarchs. However, the daily pointed out that Vinogradov supposedly said that the act for which he is being prosecuted is not considered to be a crime in Slovakia. tz/mch