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Report: Russia's FSB Searches Office Of Top Customs Official

July 26, 2016

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has reportedly searched the office of the top customs official and the home of his former adviser in what would mark the second high-profile security services action against another government agency in a week.

The Novaya Gazeta newspaper reported that the FSB searched the office of Andrei Belyaninov, head of the Federal Customs Agency, and the home of Sergei Lobanov, now a businessman, the morning of July 26.

The operation was part of an investigation into alcohol smuggling, which led to the arrest of three businessmen in St. Petersburg in March, the newspaper said.

The Interfax news agency cited a source saying that investigators have seized documents from the headquarters of the Federal Customs Agency in Moscow.

The searches may indicate mounting tensions between government agencies.

On July 19, the FSB arrested three powerful Moscow investigators over allegations which included taking bribes from a crime syndicate.

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-fsb-search -customs-official-belyaninov/27881141.html

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.