Russia halts Avtovaz investigation

The Russian authorities have dismissed a criminal investigation launched last month by tax police into the financial dealings of the country's largest carmaker, Avtovaz.

A spokesman for the Prosecutor General's Office said the tax police did not have sufficient evidence to prosecute the company.

In July, the head of the Russian tax police Vyacheslav Soltaganov said Avtovaz which manufactures Lada cars modelled on old Italian Fiats hid sales of about two-hundred-thousand cars by listing them as one single vehicle in its accounting books.

He said the case involved hundreds of millions of dollars in unreported income.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service