US drops case vs Russian firm in poll meddling

THE US Justice Department abruptly dropped its criminal case Monday against the company controlled by a confident of Russian President Vladimir Putin that allegedly funded the campaign to meddle in the 2016 elections.

Just weeks before the trial was to begin, the Justice department announced it was withdrawing the eight-count indictment of Concord Management and Consulting, a company owned by close Putin ally Yevgeniy Prigozhin.

Concord, which funds the St. Petersburg-based troll factory the Internet Research Agency, was part of an indictment against 13 Russian individuals and three companies -- one of the major outcomes of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s 22-month investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 vote.

A MAN wearing a facemask amid concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, rides a motorbike through a street, in Dhaka. AFP PHOTO