Former Russian Minister Detained Over Massive Embezzlement, May Face 20 Years in Prison

Corruption is Everywhere - You Better Believe in Russian Politics

FILE PHOTO: Mikhail Abyzov © Sputnik / Iliya Pitalev

Former Russian minister, Nikolay Abyzov, who only left the cabinet last year, was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) over accusations of organizing a criminal group to embezzle 4 billion rubles (around $15.5 million).

The investigators believe Abyzov and his accomplices obtained the money by swindling the shareholders of two major energy companies in Russia’s Novosibirsk Region. The funds were then transferred abroad through offshore firms, which the ex-minister was a beneficial owner between 2011 and 2014.

The actions of the criminal group that Abyzov “organized and headed” have jeopardized the energy security and stable economic growth of several Russian Regions, the Investigative Committee said.

The probe against the 46-year-old is head by the top branch in the Investigative Committee, which only deals with high priority cases, with the assistance of the FSB.

Abyzov is charged with organizing a criminal group, with the offense carrying a prison term of up to 20 years, under Russian law. The investigators say they’ll ask the court to put him in custody.

A source told Interfax that the ex-minister was recently living abroad – in Italy and the US – and the FSB “operatives had to lure him to Russia.” He didn’t elaborate on how the detention happened.

The ex-ministers’ lawyer, Aleksandr Ansis, told the media that his client "categorically refuses to acknowledge his guilt."

Maybe it's just the translation, but that sure sounds like a curious way of stating his innocence.

Abyzov began his business career in the 1990s and occupied key positions in several of the country’s largest energy companies, including Unified Energy System of Russia and E4 Group. He’s one of the richest people in the country, with Forbes estimating his wealth at $600 million last year.

He joined the Russian government in 2012 under Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and maintained the ministerial post until May 2018. The man oversaw the functioning of the Open Government, a new approach which was introduced to make the Russian state more transparent and allow the authorities to discuss its initiatives with the society.

This just gets more hilarious by the line.

Vladimir Putin was informed of Abyzov’s case in advance, Kremlin press-secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said.

Medvedev’s office also said that the PM was aware of the situation, but pointed out that Abyzov is being investigated “for the activities that aren’t related to his work as a government member.”

Of course, no-one in the government would ever be guilty of corruption!!! 

How MSM and the Climate Change Lobby Distort the Debate

Carbon dioxide not ‘primary contributor’ to global warming, EPA chief says

© Peter Andrews / Reuters

Scott Pruitt, President Trump's new administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency, does not think carbon dioxide is the primary contributor to global warming, a belief his own agency contradicts.

On Thursday, CNBC “Squawk Box” host Joe Kernen asked Pruitt if he believes that carbon dioxide has been proven to be the “primary control knob” for climate change.

“I think that measuring with precision human activity on the climate is something very challenging to do and there's tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact, so no, I would not agree that it's a primary contributor to the global warming that we see,” Pruitt said.

"But we don't know that yet. ... We need to continue the debate and continue the review and the analysis," he said.

Pruitt’s statements run contrary to the EPA website, which definitively states: “Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas that is contributing to recent climate change.”

This is where MSM loses credibility. Here they compare apples to oranges and criticize Pruitt for not believing they are the same thing. The question he asked was - is CO2 the primary cause of global warming. Then the RT reporter (and a bunch of liberals on Twitter) go a little nuts and claim he is contradicting his own web site. But what does the web site actually say? 

“Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas that is

contributing to recent climate change.”

It does not say that it is the primary cause of climate change, but only that it is primary among greenhouse gasses. I agree with that statement and I suspect Pruitt would too.

Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) also disagree with Pruitt.

“The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 2.0 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere,” NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies reported in January, based on NASA and NOAA data.

Just once, I would like top hear one of these guys say that they have eliminated sun-spot activity as the main driver in climate change and why.

The two agencies also said that global temperatures in 2016 were the warmest ever recorded.

It was also the strongest or 2nd strongest El Nino ever recorded, so that's what you would expect.

In response Thursday, Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), co-chair of the Senate Climate Action Task Force, called Pruitt’s views “extreme” and “irresponsible.”

"Anyone who denies over a century's worth of established science and basic facts is unqualified to be the administrator of the EPA. Now more than ever, the Senate needs to stand up to Scott Pruitt and his dangerous views," he said in a statement.

There is a century worth of science proving greenhouse gasses are responsible for climate change? Wow! How did I miss that? It's only been in the last few decades that science has even considered that greenhouse gasses may be contributing to climate change. In fact, it's been less than 50 years since most climate scientists decided that the planet was warming rather than cooling.

It doesn't help your cause to make such inflammatory and unscientific statements. It 'outs' you as being as 'scientifically illiterate' as the one you criticize.

Schatz says that that lawmakers will hold Pruitt accountable through the appropriations process, through oversight of the EPA, and by making sure that the agency follows the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts.

“He is still obligated to follow the law,” Schatz said.

Several other Democrats and climate scientists took to Twitter in protest of Pruitt’s comments.

In the interview, Pruitt said that the EPA should focus on reducing regulatory uncertainty, which he said has put a “paralysis on development.”

“Regulatory certainty is something we need to focus on at the EPA and that’s what we’re trying to re-instill in the agency presently,” Pruitt said. “This idea that if you're pro-environment you're anti-energy is just something we've got to change, so that attitude is something we're working on very much.”

Pruitt also called the Paris Agreement, an international accord to mitigate the impacts of climate change, “a bad deal” and said that he would soon be making an announcement on changes to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, which set the average fuel economy for new cars and light trucks.

Lest you think I am partial here, (don't laugh), I find the above two paragraphs a little concerning. CAFE standards drive innovation and there is always room for improving air quality when it comes to vehicle emissions. (I don't automatically relate air quality to climate change but to healthy people and environments). Makes you wonder who Pruitt is working for, the people, or the oil industry?