Lying near the car was the body of a man that investigators concluded had taken part in the attack, and who had been left by his accomplices. In his pocket was a passport issued in the name of Salavat Dzhabrailov, the cousin of the influential Moscow businessman of Chechen origin Umar Dzhabrailov, who is well known in Moscow – he ran for presidency in 2000 and owns several hotels.
In an interview granted to Kommersant Daily on Saturday Umar Dzhabrailov resolutely denied his cousin’s alleged involvement in the attempt on Ordzhonikidze’s life and assumed that Ordzhonikidze had staged the murder attempt in order to frame him. The two of them have not been on friendly terms recently.
Gazeta.Ru contacted the famous businessman for more details. In an interview to Gazeta.Ru he explained that the press had misinterpreted his intention to go to Italy. And even though on Monday, June 24, Dzhabrailov convened a news conference to clarify his position, he did not prove very talkative.
What made you return to Russia? (from Italy)
And why shouldn’t I have returned to Russia? I am not involved in anything…
Well, you did call Kommersant Daily yourself and said that you intended to go to Italy in order to escape arrest in Moscow… Is that not how it was?
No, that’s not how it was. I didn’t call anyone myself. A journalist from Kommersant visited me. I told him, among other things, that I planned a trip to Italy, but I had been planning the trip for a while. That trip had been scheduled and was in no way connected with what happened. Apparently, the journalist misunderstood me.
Did investigators contact you after the attempt on Ordzhonikidze?
No. Nobody contacted me.
And after the first attempt on him? [The first attempt on the vice-mayor’s life took place on December 19, 2000]
I was questioned a couple of times.
And have you talked with anybody since the most recent attack on Ordzhonikidze? With him, or with someone from his entourage?
So far, nobody has expressed a willingness to talk to me.
On the day of the attack on Ordzhonikidze you had a meeting scheduled with [Moscow mayor] Yuri Luzhkov. Had Ordzhonikidze known about that?
I think he had been informed, but not by Luzhkov.
Had you planned to talk about Ordzhonikidze?
No, I had not planned to talk about him.
You say your cousin’s death grieved you. Then why did you not go to the site of the incident yourself?
On the day it happened I did not know and I did not believe that it was about my cousin. And anyway, I’m no criminal expert to be there.
When was the last time you saw Salavat?
I saw him about four days before his death. He was a very calm man, prudent, interesting…and sensible.
Did you have any common business? Your brother Khusein [who runs the Rossia hotel in central Moscow] told the press, that Salavat had offered business-projects to you. Weren’t you interested?
No. We had no common business…
Have you contacted Salavat’s mother?
She came. Poor woman. On Saturday we saw her off. She went back with my cousin’s body. I have very little information about the results of the forensic examination of his body. One bullet wound, right through. The reports that after he was wounded his accomplices finished him off have not proved true.
After the attack on Ordzhonikidze your business is making a loss. Who would benefit from that?
Ask them… The Radisson-Slavyanskaya hotel, that I made profitable, has terminated my contract. Ordzhonikidze oversees it. And the director general of the hotel Gurami Mzhavanadze is his subordinate.
What do you mean by ‘subordinate’?
Ordzhonikidze hired him.
And the shopping mall in Manezh Square, have they terminated your contract, too?
I’m afraid I have no more time. Sorry…
And thus the interview was cut short.
Later on Monday, however, the entrepreneur convened a news conference, where he had promised to shed light on the possible motives behind the attempt on the vice-mayor’s life. His words, however, only further obscured the whole issue. The businessman blamed the recent events on some 'third force'.
The president of the PLAZA Group opened his news conference with the assertion that the attempt on Iosif Ordzhonikidze had been staged: ''That was definitely a theatrical performance that had long been planned.''
Moreover, Dzhabrailov did not rule out that the attack was staged at the personal behest of Ordzhonikidze. At this, the businessman emphasized that he is convinced no special services could have been involved in the 'attempt' on the vice-mayor, or in Salavat Dzhabrailov’s murder.
The businessman has not concealed his dislike of the deputy mayor and insists that ''it is high time for certain authorities'' to take a closer look into Ordzhonikidze’s affairs. At this, Dzhabrailov stressed that he maintains good relations with Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov and his government.
25 ИЮНЯ 12:32
