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Second man in Arbat Prestige case wanted by FBI - Russian police-2

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MOSCOW, January 25 (RIA Novosti) - A man detained late on Wednesday by Moscow police alongside the owner of a major Russian cosmetics retailer is wanted by the FBI for fraud, money laundering and extortion, police sources said on Friday.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on its website that the Ukrainian businessman, Semion Mogilevich, 61, was wanted "for racketeering, securities fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering."

Mogilevich was arrested alongside Vladimir Nekrasov, 47, the owner of the Arbat Prestige cosmetics retailer in what has been described as a major police operation, involving elite commandoes. Bodyguards for the two men are reported to have made no attempt to interfere in the arrests.

A police source later said that Nekrasov owed 49.5 million rubles ($2 million) in back taxes for January 2005 - December 2006, and that a criminal case had been launched.

Mogilevich is also wanted in Russia and a number of other countries, and a police source said that he held several other passports in different names. His had originally been identified as Sergei Schneider by Russian authorities.

Mogilevich was detained on charges of elaborating a tax evasion scheme for Arbat Prestige, his lawyer, Alexander Pogonchikov, said.

"He has admitted nothing and has no idea of what he is suspected of," the lawyer said. "He has no links to Arbat Prestige, he is not a shareholder."

According to the lawyer, Nekrasov holds 100% of the company's shares.

However, Pogonchikov admitted that Mogilevich had changed his name.

"He did it when he got married and took his wife's surname," he said. "It has nothing to do with any attempt to hide."

Arbat Prestige is one of Russia's leading cosmetic retailers. Established in 1989, it opened its first retail outlet in 1998, and currently runs a network of 64 outlets across Russia. The company reported income of around $346 million in 2006.

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