Vladimir Kumarin

Vladimir Kumarin is a Russian businessman, former vice president of the Petersburg Fuel Company (PTK) in 1998 - 1999, and allegedly the boss of the powerful Tambov Gang of St. Petersburg.

Juergen Roth's book "Die Gangster aus dem Osten" or "Gangsters From the East," [Jürgen Roth, "Die Gangster aus dem Osten", Europa Verlag Publishers] links Vladimir Putin to alleged mobster Kumarin (who has since changed his name to Barsukov) through Vladimir Smirnov, the former head of SPAG's St. Petersburg operations and an old associate of the president.

In 1994, as deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, Putin awarded the Petersburg Fuel Company, or PTK, the highly prized right to be the sole supplier of gasoline to the city. At the time, Smirnov was a major shareholder in PTK and local media reported that the company was controlled by the Tambov Gang. In 1998, Smirnov took over PTK and appointed Kumarin/Barsukov as his deputy. [Segodnya Daily Newspaper (Russian), January 10, 2001]

In June 2003, the magazine "Der Spiegel" mentioned that, according to the German ministry of criminal affairs, the German firm SPAG had fallen under suspicion of being involved in a money laundering scheme with connections to Kumarin. Putin was an advisor to this firm over the course of seven years. ["Der Spiegel", June 2003] It has been suggested that Kumarin maintains good relations to Russian politicians Mikhail Glushenko and Alexander Filatov.

Vladimir Kumarin was arrested in Russia on August 24, 2007, and accused by Prosecutor General Yury Chaika of banditry and organizing a gang [ [http://www.rian.ru/defense_safety/investigations/20070827/75211130.html "Эрмитаж отдыхает": в Петербурге изъяли 50 антикварных предметов] ] [ [http://spb.rbc.ru/freenews/20070827165115.shtml Ю.Чайка: Преступная группировка под руководством арестованного в Петербурге В.Барсукова действовала около 10 лет] ] [ [http://www.fontanka.ru/2007/08/27/093/ Генпрокурор Чайка: «Перед Кумариным все делали «Ку»] ]

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