Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov / A. Filippov / ITAR-TASS The Investigative Committee reported searches and interrogations at the Defense Ministry-controlled OJSC Oboronservis in connection with a 3 billion ruble fraud case. Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov visited the company, a source in law enforcement agencies told Interfax.

Attempts by state-owned companies to block privatization deals through legal proceedings are fraught with the deterioration of relations with the government for their management, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned. "If such cases occur, then the management of state-owned companies must understand all the consequences for themselves, including in their relations with the government," Medvedev said at a government meeting, commenting on the speech of First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov.

The deadline for developing a new pension formula has been postponed again, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Development Andrei Pudov said at a public hearing at the Financial University. According to the official, the new pension formula in its final version, in agreement with the government, will be ready only by July 2013. Previously, it was assumed that the formula would be ready by April 2013.

Oppositionist Leonid Razvozzhayev has officially refused to turn himself in for the case of preparations to organize mass riots, with the text of which, as the Investigative Committee stated, he voluntarily came to investigators. Razvozzhayev's lawyer Mark Feigin, who visited his client in the Lefortovo pretrial detention center on Thursday, told Interfax that the oppositionist wrote a statement in which he renounces his testimony because it was given under pressure.

The privatization of up to 6% of Rosneft shares in 2013 will most likely be carried out within the framework of a deal with the British BP, which has offered to buy 5.66% of Rosneft shares from Rosneftegaz for $4.8 billion, a source familiar with the situation told the Prime agency. Earlier today, the head of the Ministry of Economic Development, Andrei Belousov, announced at a government meeting that up to 6% of Rosneft shares could be privatized in 2013.

A. Makhonin / Vedomosti Each member of a Russian family living in an apartment building has an average of 15.4 square meters of total area per person, and two rooms per family. Families living in individual houses have an average of 20.74 square meters of total area per person and almost three rooms per family.

US oil company Chevron plans to explore for shale gas in Lithuania by buying shares in a local company that has an exploration license, business newspaper Verslo Zinios reported on Thursday. Chevron Global Energy has acquired 50% of Lithuanian-registered oil company LL Investicijos, which holds a license to develop the 2,400 square kilometer Rietavas oil and gas field, the article says.

Picasso, Chagall, Miro for two days Yesterday, Sotheby's opened a two-day exhibition of 28 top lots from its autumn auction at the Historical Museum. The most expensive is a small painting, "Woman at a Window," by Pablo Picasso, preliminarily estimated at $15-20 million. "The Artist's Wife" by Marc Chagall and "Lady with a Dog" by van Dongen are estimated at $2-3 million. Vedomosti

If Rosneft gains control of TNK-BP, it could increase the likelihood of receiving emergency government support if needed, since the company would become the undisputed leader of the Russian oil industry in terms of reserves and production and one of the largest oil companies in the world, the agency believes. According to S&P, after the deal is completed, the Russian government will have about 69% of Rosneft, and it is unlikely that the state's share will be reduced below a controlling stake.

Investors who rushed to buy up land in new Moscow may end up losing out / A. Makhonin / Vedomosti Dmitry Medvedev, while still president, instructed the Moscow mayor's office to develop a draft federal law "On the specifics of regulating land relations in the territory annexed to Moscow...". The first version of the document, which appeared in July, was called "raw" by the officials themselves and they promised to finalize it.

The German automobile concern Daimler will not reach its planned profit level in 2012, reports the Financial Times. “Due to the difficult economic situation, the group’s profit will be less than last year,” Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, told the publication. The concern's profit for the year will amount to 8 billion euros compared to 9 billion euros in 2011.

Alrosa may sign a trade agreement with Hong Kong's Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, which is developing the largest jewellery brand in China, Hong Kong and Macau, by the end of November.

Rosoboronexport has supplied weapons worth about $11 billion abroad this year, said Ivan Goncharenko, First Deputy Director General of Rosoboronexport and head of the Russian delegation at the Euronaval air show. "Today, our contractual obligations are fulfilled in the region of $11 billion. Rosoboronexport's order portfolio fluctuates, usually it is $35-37 billion," he told journalists. Following the exhibition, no contracts for the purchase of Russian weapons were signed.

The Moscow Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case on the discovery of spy equipment in the office of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, headed by oppositionist Alexei Navalny, in August of this year. On Thursday, Navalny posted a copy of the resolution to open a criminal case under Article 137 of the Criminal Code ("violation of privacy") on his LiveJournal blog.

Former Deputy Head of the Ministry of Communications Naum Marder has been appointed Vice President of Rostelecom OJSC for Interaction with Government Authorities. This was stated in the company's press release.