2 Chechens arrested in American journalist's killing

MOSCOW - After an 11-week investigation, authorities on Tuesday announced their first break in the murder of American journalist Paul Klebnikov with the arrests of two Chechen men in Moscow.

Moscow police said the men were involved in the July 9 killing of Klebnikov, the editor of Forbes magazine's Russian edition. The men allegedly kidnapped another person before Klebnikov was shot outside his Moscow office, the Interfax News Agency reported.

The high-profile killing ignited a welter of conspiracy theories pointing in a variety of directions, from Chechen separatists to Russia's wealthiest tycoons. The 41-year-old journalist, an American of Russian descent, was known as a relentless investigative reporter who'd stepped on more than a few toes. His murder renewed concerns about the safety of journalists in Russia.

The arrests constituted the first substantive development in the case. Still, it was unclear if the suspects are the accused triggermen or are more peripherally connected to the slaying.

Moscow Police Chief Vladimir Pronin disclosed the detentions while attending a municipal conference at the mayor's office, according to NTV Television. Pronin told a reporter that one of the men had a gun that may have been linked to the slaying. Police seized three guns, Interfax reported.

Authorities didn't release the men's names, their ages or other details about their background or the murder investigation.

Klebnikov was shot four times from a passing car outside his office in northern Moscow. He told a colleague, who rushed outside to help, that he didn't recognize the gunman and didn't know who ordered the attack. He died shortly after arriving at a hospital.

Responding to news of the arrests, Forbes CEO and editor-in-chief Steve Forbes said, "We are encouraged by the reported breakthrough in Paul's case by the Russian authorities. We are looking forward to learning more as the investigation continues."

The suspected involvement of Chechens fortified initial speculation that Klebnikov may have been killed because of his digging into the shadowy world of criminals and militants in the breakaway republic of Chechnya.

Ruslan Gorevoy of the Glasnost Defense Foundation, a Moscow-based press advocacy group, said Tuesday that a team of three reporters began investigating shortly after Klebnikov's death and uncovered tentative evidence that the journalist apparently had antagonized two Moscow businessmen: a Chechen arms merchant and a former officer in the Russian security forces.

Both had made threats to Klebnikov if he continued to look into their affairs, Gorevoy said. But he said the investigative team didn't have enough evidence to report its findings.

Several major Russian newspapers speculated that Chechen separatists may have been involved, pointing to a book by Klebnikov based on 15 hours of interviews with former separatist commander Khozh-Akhmed Nukhayev. "Conversations With a Barbarian" detailed Nukhayev's military exploits in Chechnya. The Russian news media have linked Nukhayev to Chechen criminal groups that began flourishing in Moscow in the years shortly after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Klebnikov also had confronted one of Russia's most powerful tycoons, now-exiled businessman Boris Berezovsky, describing him in print as a "gangland boss" who ordered the 1995 murder of television journalist Vladislav Listyev. Berezovsky sued for libel, but agreed to withdraw the suit after Forbes acknowledged there was no link between him and the killing.

Klebnikov detailed Berezovksy's once-extensive influence at the Kremlin in a book titled "Godfather of the Kremlin: Boris Berezovsky and the Looting of Russia."

After becoming alienated from President Vladimir Putin, Berezovsky fled Russia and now lives in England. Russian authorities have accused him of helping to finance Chechen insurgents.

Russia is one of the 10 most dangerous countries for journalists, according to the international Committee to Protect Journalists. Scores of them have been killed in Chechnya, and others have been targeted in mob-style hits.

And here everyone of FR was blaming Putin.

Also referenced here:

How much does it cost to blow up an airplane
NTV journalists try to find out who is financing terror acts
It's a well-known fact: terrorists make good money. Stories about how only those who are ideologically motivated can take a whole school hostage - are bluff. All terror acts are custom-ordered, carefully-planned actions, for which those carrying out the missions receive money. As it turns out, good money. According to several sources, one hundred million dollars a year are spent on financing terrorism in Russia. Can you imagine such a sum? Where does this money come from?
In the beginning of the 1990s the leaders of the Chechnyan bandits worked independently. With the help of representatives of big business, they occupied themselves in bank frauds and sneaked into Russia's oil business. In such a way billions of rubels which were to be paid for Siberian oil were lost due to crime - either due to "Yukos" or a certain Khozh-Akhmed Nukhayev, the main financer of the Chechnyan bandits. In addition, this same Nukhayev controlled a large block of shares in the St. Petersburg business LogoVAZ.
In their program, Aleksey Yegorov and Aleksey Malkov will find out from where the terrorists received such huge resources. Recall Paul Khlebnikov, the recently murdered editor for the Russia version of "Forbes" magazine. Khlebnikov once wrote a book about Nukhayev called "Conversation with a Barbarian". By the way - the murderers of Khlebnikov have yet to be found, however it has become known that he was seriously considering investigating the connections Russian business circles have with criminal organizations of the Caucasus.
You may view the journalists investigations tomorrow on NTV, "Terror act paid for in advance".
Natal'ya VOLOSHINA 24 September 2004

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