GENEVA, Switzerland, Dec. 1 -- A courthouse in Geneva, Switzerland, was all but sealed off amid unprecendented security at the start of the two-week trial of Sergei Mikhailov ('sir-GAY mee-HIGH- lawf'), a leading Russian mobster better known as 'Mikhas' ('mee- HAHS'). Police inspector Patrick Scheurer, the first witness called by the prosecution, disclosed the Swiss police's evidence against Mikhailov, who they say is a leading member of Russia's Solntsevo ('SOLN-tseh-v vah') crime group. Scheurer told the court police tapped into Mikhailov's phone calls, during which he allegedly introduced himself as the head or one of the two leaders of the Solntsevskaya ('SOLN-tsev-skah-yah') crime group based in the southwest Moscow district of the same name. The inspector said police have discovered forged Greek, Belgian and Portuguese papers belonging to Mikhailov, as well as passports issued by Russia and Israel and diplomatic passports from Guyana and Costa Rica. Scheurer described Mikhailov's lifestyle, saying the mobster spent almost $10,000 a month on travel and clothes for his wife, and owned 11 credit cards. The inspector said Mikhailov was so powerful he was able to arrange the release of a hostage held by Chechen rebels simply by making a couple of telephone calls. Scheurer told the court: 'There is every indication to believe Mikhailov was the head of a very big organization.' Swiss officials are investigating Mikhailov's extensive purchases of Swiss property, but it appears the deals are legal. Mikhailov faces up to seven and a half years in a Swiss prison on charges ranging from falsification of documents and irregularities in purchases of Swiss property to the hefty charge of belonging to a criminal organization.
The 40-year-old man was arrested at Geneva's Cointrin airport two years ago and charged with money laundering. A Swiss bank account reportedly holding $2 million in Mikhailov's name has been frozen while the investigation continued. Judge Antoinette Stalder has overruled objections by the defense that Mikhailov's chances of a fair trial were being undermined by press leaks from the local prosecutor's office. The police are taking no chances during the hearing of the high- profile case, surrounding the court building and issuing bullet-proof vests to key witnesses as they take the stand. Vadim Rozenbaum ('vah-DEEM roh-zen-BAUM'), a key witness and former business associate of Mikhailov's, was shot dead at his home in the Netherlands last summer. Several FBI agents and a Russian investigator are to testify during the hearings. ---
Copyright 1998 by United Press International. All rights reserved. ---
