Spanish police detained nine people Wednesday night, including Alexander Gofshtein, a lawyer for the bankrupt oil firm Yukos who arrived from Moscow for a meeting in the Soto del Real jail near Madrid with his client, Zakhar Kalashov, who is believed to be a Georgian mafia boss.
"No charge has yet been brought against him. Alexander is suspected of involvement in a criminal gang and money laundering," Genrikh Padva said.
Spanish police are conducting the second phase of a large-scale operation codenamed Operacion Avispa (Operation Hornet), which targets the Russian and Georgian mafias operating in the country.
Padva said he was shocked with the arrest. "This is like a bolt from the blue! Gofshtein is a lawyer with an untarnished reputation, and he has not been involved in anything of that sort. I have no doubt he has nothing to do with any illegal activities," he said.
Padva insisted that Gofshtein provided legal assistance for his client, and denied a police statement that the lawyer brought money to his jailed client, calling it absurd.
A statement issued by the police press service said Kalashov's gang was involved in money laundering. The gang earned money from criminal activities in Moscow, including illegal gambling, kidnapping and extortion, and invested the illegally gained funds in legitimate businesses in Spain, buying real estate, restaurants, and other assets.
Police said as many as 31 people were arrested in Spain during the first phase of Operation Hornet in June 2005.
