And this afternoon he gets an allegation of a theft of seven billion rubles from Transneft.

NEWYORKER: Net Impact

This is how the investigation proceeded: A detective asked Transneft to give testimony regarding the charges.

NEWYORKER: Net Impact

But through Transneft, the state-run Russian monopoly that owns many pipelines in the region, it retains serious clout.

ECONOMIST: Pipeline politics | The

Out also went the head of Russia's national oil-pipeline company, Transneft, whose finances have long been a seedy mystery.

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Investors in the so-called public-private partnership include Russian Railways, national power utility Unified Energy System and state-controlled pipeline operator Transneft.

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Then he learned, from a newspaper article, that Transneft had donated three hundred million dollars to charity in 2007 alone.

NEWYORKER: Net Impact

Critics of the mega-project within Russia such as Sergei Grigoryev, vice-president of state controlled energy conglomerate Transneft, have been skeptical of the plan.

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But Transneft, the pipeline operator, is proving a hard bargainer.

ECONOMIST: Chechnya

The sum was more than ten per cent of its profits that year and more than it spent on maintaining its entire network of pipes, but Transneft did not disclose where the cash went.

NEWYORKER: Net Impact

Transneft is appealing the decision.

NEWYORKER: Net Impact