This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
A federal grand jury in Utah has charged the former deputy director of a Russian military contractor with bribing FedEx Corp employees to boost business for his U.S. transportation company.
Leonid Teyf, who served as second in charge at Russia’s Voentorg, and five others individuals are accused of conspiring to divert FedEx business to Salt Lake Trucking Group (SLTG), according to a filing in Utah federal court in late October.
Teyf, who was arrested last year in North Carolina where he resides on separate charges of money laundering, was one of four owners in SLTG, having paid $2.4 million for a 25 percent stake in 2014.
A fifth individual owned a stake in one of SLTG’s subsidiaries. All five were indicted along with a FedEx worker in the scheme.
The five men paid $320,000 in brides to three FedEx employees over a 10-year period to obtain preferential treatment for the trucking company. Teyf became aware of the bribery scheme in 2014, according to the indictment.
SLTG received roughly $150 million in FedEx business over the past decade.
The FBI raided Teyf’s home last year as part of the separate money-laundering case. Teyf is accused of bringing into the United States millions in kickbacks from Russia.
He is also accused of bribing U.S. officials to have a Russian man deported, and if necessary, killed. Teyf allegedly believed the Russian man was having an affair with his wife, according to documents in that case. Tefy denies those charges.
