Former bankers convicted over Swiss account of Putin pal

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, presents a medal to Russian cellist Sergei Roldugin, in Moscow’s Kremlin, Russia, in 2016. Pic/AP

Four former bankers with the Swiss affiliate of a key Russian bank were found guilty Thursday of failing to properly check accounts opened in the name of a Russian cellist with longtime ties to President Vladimir Putin.

The defendants were handed suspended sentences in Zurich district court that, if violated, could lead collectively to hundreds of thousands of Swiss francs in fines. The verdict follows a one-day trial on March 8 based on information about secret financial flows revealed in the Panama Papers leaks in 2016 that implicated musician and Putin's childhood friend Sergei Roldugin. It took years for prosecutors to unravel the web of money and bring the case to court.

WSJ reporter held

Russia's top security agency has arrested an American reporter for Wall Street Journal on espionage charges, the first time a U.S. correspondent was put behind bars on spying accusations since the Cold War. The Federal Security Service said Thursday that Evan Gershkovich was detained in Yekaterinburg trying to obtain classified information.

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EU slams prison term for Russian

Alexei Moskalyov.. Pic/AP

Russia's prosecution of a single father whose daughter, 13, drew an antiwar sketch at school elicited outrage from the European Union on Wednesday, even as the man fled house arrest before the verdict was announced. Alexei Moskalyov was convicted of discrediting the Russian army and sentenced to two years in prison in his hometown of Yefremov on Tuesday. European Commission spokesman Peter Stano tweeted that Moskalyov's sentence was "a total disgrace".

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