MOSCOW, July 13 (RIA Novosti) - The Prosecutor General's Office has launched an investigation following a parliamentary inquiry into the suspected leaks of information on the Central Bank's interventions in the currency market.
"The analysis of the foreign currency trading sessions from October 2004 to May 2005 showed that on certain days sales had hiked unreasonably," two parliament members wrote in a letter to the prosecutor general. "Such hikes could be, among other things, due to insider information leaks on exchange rates for the following day, which helped some of the market players bring in revenues of 404% to 511% a year."
The Central Bank fixes a next-day exchange rate based on trading session results. The bank is the largest currency exchange player and its interventions influence the rate considerably. The Central Bank is authorized to pursue a national currency policy under the Russian Constitution.
The parliament members said they suspected one of the Central Bank deputy chairmen of spreading insider information, but did not identify the suspect.
They did say the executive had once been the managing vice-president of Troika Dialog investment.
Newspapers reported Wednesday that Konstantin Korishchenko was the only Central Bank executive who had held that post. A member of the State Duma's Homeland faction confirmed the Korishchenko is suspected.
Korishchenko has yet to respond to the accusation.
Korishchenko was appointed a Central Bank deputy chairman in July 2002 and became a member of its board of directors in October of 2002. His colleagues call him an excellent expert and his integrity has never been questioned before.
The Duma members asked the prosecutor general to look into "the compliance with the law on the non-disclosure of information on financial or monetary-crediting activities by Central Bank executives who had worked in or had been clients of companies dealing in the currency and stock markets."
