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Phone Seizure Seen as Example of Russian Corruption - New York Times
by ubernoir at 6:03 am EDT, Jun 14, 2006 |
MOSCOW, June 13 — On March 29, agents of the Interior Ministry seized 167,500 mobile phones that Motorola had shipped into Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow, dragging the company into the Kafkaesque world where Russian justice intersects with business. Wide-ranging coverage of Russia and the former Soviet republics, updated by The Times's Moscow bureau.
Vitaly Belousov/Itar-Tass The Interior Ministry ground up 49,991 Motorola phones on April 25. About 117,000 seized phones remain in the government's hands. The phones were first declared counterfeits, then contraband, then a health hazard, and now they are evidence in a criminal investigation focused, again, on suspected smuggling.
the wild east |
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RE: Phone Seizure Seen as Example of Russian Corruption - New York Times
by Lost at 7:05 am EDT, Jun 14, 2006 |
adam wrote: MOSCOW, June 13 — On March 29, agents of the Interior Ministry seized 167,500 mobile phones that Motorola had shipped into Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow, dragging the company into the Kafkaesque world where Russian justice intersects with business. Wide-ranging coverage of Russia and the former Soviet republics, updated by The Times's Moscow bureau.
Vitaly Belousov/Itar-Tass The Interior Ministry ground up 49,991 Motorola phones on April 25. About 117,000 seized phones remain in the government's hands. The phones were first declared counterfeits, then contraband, then a health hazard, and now they are evidence in a criminal investigation focused, again, on suspected smuggling.
the wild east
The real lesson being: never attempt to import anything to Russia on the level. Actually obeying procedure and 'the law' is equivalent to not obeying the unwritten rules. If you don't know who to pay off, you can't play. Strange, but true. Customs in Russia are equivalent to extortion. |
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RE: Phone Seizure Seen as Example of Russian Corruption - New York Times
by dmv at 8:00 am EDT, Jun 14, 2006 |
Jello wrote: The real lesson being: never attempt to import anything to Russia on the level. Actually obeying procedure and 'the law' is equivalent to not obeying the unwritten rules. If you don't know who to pay off, you can't play. Strange, but true.
It is a very similar story for export (my experience, although I haven't written the Russian story... it was "impossible" or "unlikely" we would get export paperwork in a "timely" (3 day) manner until a couple of crisp US hundred dollar bills were added to the requesting paperwork (5 minutes)). |
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RE: Phone Seizure Seen as Example of Russian Corruption - New York Times
by Lost at 11:08 am EDT, Jun 14, 2006 |
dmv wrote:
Jello wrote: The real lesson being: never attempt to import anything to Russia on the level. Actually obeying procedure and 'the law' is equivalent to not obeying the unwritten rules. If you don't know who to pay off, you can't play. Strange, but true.
It is a very similar story for export (my experience, although I haven't written the Russian story... it was "impossible" or "unlikely" we would get export paperwork in a "timely" (3 day) manner until a couple of crisp US hundred dollar bills were added to the requesting paperwork (5 minutes)).
When I lived there, I had my parents send an old notebook computer along with wool socks and other little crap that made them feel better. They assesed a duty on the computer that was much more than its value. I couldn't afford to pay it. The company that sponsored my visa ended up paying it, and keeping the computer, just so I could get the other stuff. The whole thing was madening. |
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