Letter From Moscow

IÂ've had a file folder on my desk for the past year and a half --titled Â"Yeltsin Family Corruption.Â" ItÂ's gotten slightly thicker every month as I added snippets of news: a communist deputy alleging bribe-taking, a foreign newspaper reporting that Yeltsin daughter bought real estate abroad, the PresidentÂ's yearly declaration of his income and more.

In the last two weeks, that file has grown three inches thicker.

The money laundering investigation at the Bank of New York is growing larger every minute, involving additional areas of investigation, more people and, of course, a lot of money.

The news rolls in from unnamed sources in the intelligence community and in law enforcement, but this much seems clear: YeltsinÂ's image-maker daughter Tatiana Dyachenko and some of YeltsinÂ's top aides are being investigated for possibly laundering -- and possibly embezzling -- millions of dollars in aid money the International Monetary Fund gave Russia.

Yeltsin himself may soon be under investigation as well. An Italian newspaper reported this week that the Russian president let a Swiss businessman pay off a million-dollar credit card bill run up by Yeltsin, his two daughters, and his security chief.

That Swiss businessman, in return, was allegedly given hundreds of millions of dollars in construction contracts in Russia, including a sumptuous renovation of two Kremlin buildings. YeltsinÂ's office and the Swiss businessman deny the charges.

In attempt to show how clean he is, Yeltsin started publicly declaring his income a few years back. In 1998, he said he made the equivalent of about $18,000. The year before that, he said he had more income from his autobiography and so his total income was $43,000.

But looking at YeltsinÂ's personal expenses, it appears he spends a lot more than he claims to earn.

After months of investigation last year, A Russian newspaper accused Yeltsin of some extravagant purchases:

• Three fur coats bought by the presidentÂ's wife and daughter Tatiana on a trip to Sweden. Total: $20,000.
• Two motorboats for the presidentÂ's summer homes. Total: $450,000.
• Private school in England for the PresidentÂ's grandson. Total: $25,000 plus expenses for full-time bodyguards.
• A Skoda Felicia car for his granddaughter, upon turning 18. Total: $10,000.
• Money to build and maintain a giant stable and several dozen horses that were given to Yeltsin as presents over the years. Total: unknown.

The mouse appears to be in charge of the cheese.

There is no Russian Kenneth Starr capable of launching an independent investigation, but it will be interesting to see what Bank of New York investigators in the U.S., Britain and Switzerland, working with limited Russian help, will be able to find out about corrption in the Kremlin.

If the news is bad, itÂ's unclear whether YeltsinÂ's weak, flagging presidency can survive.

Written by Beth Knobel
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