Russian Financier Sentenced

A Moscow court declined to give Alexei Frenkel, 37, a life sentence at sentencing November 13. Six co-defendants were sentenced to jail from six years to life.

Prosecutors said Frenkel, an executive at VIP Holding bank, had acted out of revenge when he ordered the murder of Kozlov, who had revoked VIP Holding’s license in June 2006. Earlier this year, a jury found Frenkel guilty of paying a female acquaintance, whowith two  intermediaries, hired three Ukrainian taxi drivers to shoot Kozlov.

Frenkel was arrested three months after the September 2006 shooting death of Kozlov, who was gunned down coming out of a football game in Moscow. Kozlov’s driver was also killed. 

Victim Led Campaign Against Bank Crime

Kozlov, 41, had spearheaded a campaign to clean up Russia’s banking sector; the Central Bank revoked the licenses of dozens of private banks, accusing them of various crimes including money laundering. He was one of the highest-ranking officials to be killed during Vladimir Putin’s eight years as president.

The case became even more intriguing last year, when Austrian prosecutors came forward saying that information about Kozlov they had sent to Russia’s prosecutor general had been disregarded. Two weeks before the murder they had been working with Kozlov in investigating large sums from small Russian banks being routed through Raiffeisen Bank in Austria – sometimes tens of millions of dollars in a single day. The Russian magazine that first reported this story – the New Times – suggested that Kozlov was killed for trying to stop this money laundering operation, which the magazine suggested was run for corrupt officials in the Russian government.

Frenkel has maintained his innocence since he was charged in January 2007. His lawyers have said they will appeal to the Russian Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights.

--Beth Kampschror