Alexander Moskalenko, owner of the "Namerenie" center, under criminal investigation for operating an illegal enterprise

Kaliningrad: June 7, 2012


Photo caption: Alexander Moskalenko

The head of "a Kaliningrad training company based on Scientology management technology" is under criminal investigation for operating an illegal enterprise (Part 1, Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports that the company's office was raided yesterday by agents of the Kaliningrad regional directorate of the Ministry of the Interior.

The press service of the regional directorate of the Ministry of the Interior said that the case was opened on June 6 against a certain "Alexander M." According to information obtained by RUGRAD.EU, the accused is the owner and general director of the "Namerenie" ["Intention"] training center, Alexander Moskalenko.

Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports that, according to the investigation, the organization has for several years engaged in educational activities without a license. It conducted training and provided management and personal counseling to business executives and their staff. The company is an active member of WISE (an international association of business people who apply the management technology of L. Ron Hubbard, some of whose books Russia has placed on its federal list of extremist materials). Preliminary information indicates that the company's revenues from illegal educational activities ranged from 2 to 4 million rubles a year.

"Entrepreneurs who want to succeed are invited to inexpensive seminars," said a law enforcement source. "Then the unofficial and much more expensive part begins, where people are roped into auditing sessions. Auditing is a Scientology technique which supposedly improves a person's abilities and erases mental impediments that prevent a person from being successful. At the same time, as much information as possible about each client is collected and subsequently sent to, among others, the organization's offices overseas. In case of conflict, the organization can always come up with compromising information. Such conflicts did arise at the Kaliningrad company, but they were successfully neutralized internally."

In a telephone conversation with RUGRAD.EU, the head of the "Namerenie" center, Alexander Moskalenko, would not make any comment on the situation and recommended contacting his assistant, Oleg Semenov, who confirmed that the case has been opened against "Namerenie." "Yes, the case has been opened and there was a raid in our office. This is a total outrage. We have't broken any laws - our work continues," said Oleg Semenov.