Charities: Russian police raid charity foundation

Russian police have raided the office of the Russian charity organization, the Open Russia foundation. The charity is close to the Yukos oil company and chaired by former Yukon COE Mikhail Khodorkovsky, ranked the 16th wealthiest man in the world.

It is believed the raid is a part of a $7 billion money laundering probe. An official statement said investigators had uncovered information suggesting that managers and employees of Yukos had stolen money from 2000-2003 oil sales by paying dividends to front companies overseas. This means that Khodorkovsky,may soon face new money laundry charges.

Last May, Khodorkovsky was sentenced to nine years in prison after being arrested on charges of tax evasion in 2003. Shortly after his arrest Vladimir Putin, froze the shares of Yukos due to tax charges. The Russian Government took further actions against Yukos, leading to a collapse in the share price.

The Open Russia foundation is the first Russian international corporate philanthropic foundation registered as charity under British law.