The disappearance of a Chechen crime-boss may be connected to the murder investigation of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
The Kommersant newspaper reports a gang founded by Chechen Movlady Atlangeriev in the 1990s is being investigated by Russian prosecutors looking into the murder. Anna Politkovskaya made her reputation reporting on lawlessness in Russia's southern republic of Chechnya. Her newspaper also published articles on the activities of the criminal organisation once led by Atlangeriev. She was shot dead in the elevator of her apartment building in October 2006. 54-year-old Atlangeriev was kidnapped on a Moscow street at the end of January. Last year, he was expelled from Britain for allegedly plotting to assassinate the self-exiled Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky.