Nexus - 1305 - New Times Magazine-pages

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As if in fulfilment of the third point, Surikov in 2001 denounced the leaders of an influential Tajik heroin cartel, including the mayor of the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.* (Tajiks until then had been one of the ethnic mafias who most dominated the trafficking of Afghan heroin through Russia.) Tajikistan. Therefore last year we completely withdrew from all shipping through Tajikistan and closed our office in that country. [Pravda-info:] Who are your partners? Who our partners are is a commercial secret. I can say that they are four private firms from three countries—Turkey, Russia and the USA—which engage among other things in shipping. One of these firms is a sub-division of a well-known American corporation. This firm is a co-founder of our agency." ~o -oTO7 > 7 oO Far West Ltd, Halliburton, Diligence LLC, New Bridge One of these firms i is a sub-division of awell- known ¢ American and Neil Bush corporation. This firm is a co-founder of our agency." The connection to Far West Ltd of Filin, Likhvinsky, Surikov and Saidov (along with Alfonso Davidovich) has since been We can assume that Pravda-info is an inside source for stunningly corroborated by a news story on the Pravda-info information about Far West, for the two organisations seem in website [May 3, 2005] about Far West Ltd and Kosyakov's fact to be two different manifestations of the same group. Among resignation from it. the directors of Far West on the masthead of Pravda-info we find At a meeting of its stockholders on May 2 in the Hotel Ritz first of all Anton Surikov, followed by Anatolii Baranov, Aleksei Carlton in Dubai, Far West Ltd accepted the retirement of the Likhvintsev, Ruslan Saidov, Vladimir Filin, Natal'ia Roeva and president...Leonid Kosyakov, who moved to government service in Audrius Butkevicius.” Ukraine. Vladimir Filin, member of the Editorial Board of Also on the Pravda-info masthead is Boris Kagarlitsky, who, as Pravda-info, was elected the new we saw in the first part of this essay, is a president, at the same time retaining main source for the Western accounts his previous position as executive of the meeting in southern France, director. The meeting of stockholders, written by Patrick Cockburn, Nafeez in accordance with its charter, Yasenev claims that some of Ahmed and John Dunlop.* Many of selected new members of the board of the Far West directors, notably Anton ' . directors of Far West Ltd, which will Far West s work with Surikov, are or have been associated now contain nine members. Besides Halliburton is apparently with Kagarlitsky at the Moscow Vladimir Filin, Anatolii Baranov and Institute of Globalization Studies Anton Surikov, it will include four approved by the CIA for (IPROG).** more members of the Editorial Board geopolitical purposes. Although Filin and Pravda-info did of Pravda-info: Audrius Butkevicius, not identify the foreign private military Aleksei Likhvintsev, Natal'ia Roeva, companies with which Far West and Ruslan Saidov, and also Valerii worked, Yasenev did: Lunev,'*! a veteran of the Armed Filin and Likhvintsev do business Forces, and Alfonso Davidovich, a with foreign private military political scientist from Venezuela. companies (PMCs): — Meteoric Tactical Solutions (South Africa)—in Angola; Far West, the story said, — Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR Halliburton)—in Colombia, ... specialises in consulting work on questions of security in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Georgia, and Iraq. conducting business in regions of the world with unstable — Diligence Irag LLC (controlled by the Kuwaiti Mohammed environments and hiring personnel for foreign private military al-Sagar)—in Iraq. companies [last three words in English]. Its head office is located Their cooperation with these companies began in the end of in Switzerland. In addition, the Agency [Far West Ltd] has a 1994 in Angola on the initiative of Victor Bout, who was involved network of representatives in the OAE (United Arab Emirates], in the shipments of Soviet-made arms to the antigovernment Afghanistan, Colombia, the autonomous region of Kosovo, the group UNITA in exchange for raw diamonds.'*! Apparently, Bout autonomous republic of Crimea, Georgia, and the Volga Federal __ became interested in Likhvintsev's contacts (L. worked in Angola District of the RF [Russian Federation].” in 1986-87). Later, in October of 1998, Filin, Likhvintsev's wife Liudmila Rozkina (b. 1966) and Anton Surikov (at that time he In 2005, Filin gave Pravda-info [September 2] some details worked in the Russian government) established the company Far about Far West's work, and revealed that the firm had been co- West Ltd, with the office in Lausanne, which officially does founded by "a sub-division of a well-known American security consulting for business ventures in countries with corporation - He said that the company's new contract is: unstable regimes. De facto, this is a legalized form of recruiting ..connected with the secured transport of commercial mercenaries for PMCs. ate Fea Afaha ” a. Halliburton is apparently approved by the CIA for geopolitical purposes. Far West, the story said, ... specialises in consulting work on questions of security in conducting business in regions of the world with unstable environments and hiring personnel for foreign private military companies {last three words in English]. Jts head office is located in Switzerland. In addition, the Agency [Far West Ltd] has a network of representatives in the OAE (United Arab Emirates], Afghanistan, Colombia, the autonomous region of Kosovo, the autonomous republic of Crimea, Georgia, and the Volga Federal District of the RF [Russian Federation].” In 2005, Filin gave Pravda-info [September 2] some details about Far West's work, and revealed that the firm had been co- founded by "a sub-division of a well-known American corporation". He said that the company's new contract is: ...connected with the secured transport of commercial shipments from Afghanistan, where we have an office, to ports on the Black Sea. In Afghanistan there is a well-known US air base in Bagram. It is connected by an aerial bridge with a number of other US air bases. For example, with the largest base in Frankfurt-on-Main, that's in Germany, with an intermediary landing in Chkalovsk, in the Moscow area. But the most commercially attractive route seems to be that from Bagram to the US air base in Magas, in Kyrgyzstan. By the way, it is quite near the Russian air base in Kant. A significant flow of shipments passes through Magas; there is a niche there for commercial shipments, too. This is very profitable. It is much more profitable than routing commercial shipments from Afghanistan through Furthermore, Yasenev claims that some of Far West's work with Halliburton is apparently approved by the CIA for geopolitical purposes: In 2003-2004, Filin and Likhvintsev worked on the Georgian project, financed by KBR Halliburton, apparently, with the approval of the CIA. The project had the goal of weakening the competitors of Halliburton in [the] oil business and, in a broader context, of facilitating the geopolitical objectives of the United States in the Caucasus. The OPS man in Georgia is Audrius Butkevicius, former Lithuanian minister of defense, presently advisor to Badri Patarkatsishvili.” 22 = NEXUS Yasenev claims that some of Far West's work with www.nexusmagazine.com AUGUST — SEPTEMBER 2006