FX.co ★ Russia's military gets away with stealing forestland

Russia’s Ministry of Defense continues impressing the country’s citizens. Previously, they heard news about warrant officers walking off with jerry cans filled with petrol. However, today going scot-free has assumed greater proportions. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office brought charges against the Ministry of Defense over being involved in 35 million ruble money laundering scam. This time, soldiers were accused of illegal sales of forestland to third parties. “In 2011 – 2012, more than 144 hectares of forestland near Nakhabino, Moscow region were illegally sold in spite of the official ban”, Prosecutor General's Office said in the indictment. It took eight months for investigators to detect the fraud. In its turn, the Russian military prosecution authorities pledged to “protect Forest Fund of Russia and prevent illegal activities towards forestland in the future”. Moreover, according to the sources, the high-profile Oboronservis case is likely to be dropped. Investigation Committee was unable to fully prove the guilt of all the main suspects and the main accusation was declared insolvent. Therefore, neither a warrant officer with a jerry can of petrol, nor Serdyukov with billions of dollars will be jailed.