SCANDAL/ How Uber connected with the oligarchs close to Putin to secure a place in the Russian market

2022-07-11 21:00:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

SCANDAL/ How Uber connected with the oligarchs close to Putin to secure a place

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The Guardian continues to publish more details about the scandal of the Taxi service company, Uber. Uber reportedly hired a political operative linked to Russian oligarchs in an attempt to "buy" influence in the country.
Uber took these actions despite concerns that paying a lobbyist would force them to get involved in bribery.
The deal was part of a concerted effort by the Silicon Valley company to engage with several billionaires as well as senior government officials allegedly aligned with Vladimir Putin in attempts to secure its place in the Russian market.
Uber's previously unknown lobbying campaign in Russia has been revealed in Uber files, a leak of more than 124,000 documents to The Guardian.

Në këto dosje zbulohet sesi në vitet 2015-16 Uber u përpoq të siguronte ndikim në nivelet më të larta të shtetit rus duke iu afruar oligarkëve që thuhet se kishin lidhje të ngushta me Kremlinin dhe duke i inkurajuar ata të investonin në kompaninë në fjalë. Në dosje flitet për një marrëveshje me Vladimir Senin, një lobist me ndikim në atë kohë dhe tani anëtar pro-Kremlinit në Dumën ruse, që mund të rezultojë më i dëmshëm për Uber.

Ish-prokurorët amerikanë dhe ekspertët e korrupsionit thanë se rrethanat në të cilat Uber punësoi Senin në 2016 duhet të kenë ngritur ata që cilësohen si “flamuj të kuq” dhe mund të kenë shkelur ligjet e SHBA-së kundër ryshfetit, raporton The Guardian, përcjell Abcnews.al

Uber pranoi se kishte punësuar Senin dhe i kishte paguar atij qindra mijëra dollarë, por tha se nuk besonte se kishte ndonjë shkelje të ligjit.

Uber's relationship with Sen was a linchpin of an aggressive push into Russia as the company tapped into a potentially vast market before facing threats from state agencies, prosecutors and competitors.

With few friends in Moscow and no Russian investors, Uber first approached Roman Abramovich before securing deals with companies controlled by billionaires Alisher Usmanov, Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, as well as Herman Gref, head of Russia's main state-controlled bank, Sberbank.

Each of the powerful figures Uber secured as partners in Russia - a market it has since exited - has since been placed under Western sanctions in response to Putin's invasion of Ukraine this year, accused of benefiting from strong ties to the president and his close circle. /CNA.al