![]() Most Russians who worked abroad for Soviet trading companies during the Brezhnev and Gorbachev years were senior Communist Party officials who used their positions to double as KGB couriers and gather sensitive information for the agency. Western intelligence officials have never looked on such agreements with enthusiasm. A key element in the venture, which was named Normaco and headquartered in Axel Johnson's London office, was an agreement that allowed Technoexport to name a co-director whose appointment could not be refused by the Axel Johnson board. Shortly before the failed Soviet coup in August 1991, Axel Johnson entered into an historic joint venture with a giant Russian metals trading firm named Technoexport to market Soviet nickel, cobalt and copper in the West. One of the many organizations trying to discover if Russian red mercury is an atomic hoax or a code word for nuclear material is Axel Johnson Resources, a Swedish raw materials trading company with an annual turnover of $6 billion. Red mercury, which sells for as much as $350, 000 a kilogram, also has been called a red herring. Red mercury sales have prompted criminal investigations in four countries and caused the arrests of a dozen people accused of transporting this purportedly dangerous material in Europe. The most fantastic of riches to spin out of Russia's bargain basement during the past two years, red mercury has sparked fire storms of controversy within the international scientific community and the multibillion dollar metals trading industry. It has been said to be able to provoke a nuclear explosion, electronically guide an ICBM to its target or help African witch doctors divine the future. The cylinder in fact contained red mercury.Ī mysterious Russian-produced substance that appeared on the world market as the Soviet Union collapsed, red mercury has been described as many things. Rogachov had brought the cylinder from Moscow a few days earlier with certificates stating that the substance was ammonium oxalate, a chemical used to remove rust or manufacture explosives. ON JULY 1, Viktor Rogachov, co-manager of a Swedish-Russian joint venture, delivered a sealed glass container to the London office of Eurobau Konsortium, a Yorkshire trading company.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |