A Russian business daily issued on Tuesday a retraction to an article published on October 8, accusing Yelena Baturina, the wife of Moscow's former mayor Yury Luzhkov, of receiving favoritism in running her construction business under Luzhkov's mayoral tenure.
Vedomosti daily said the fact that Baturina had "not always paid the city a percentage traditional for all developers" was incorrect as well as that the businesswoman's company, Inteko, "failed to fulfill its obligations for its own interest" in a series of projects.
"The editorial staff of Vedomosti daily apologizes to Inteko, Ltd.," the newspaper's statement said.
Meanwhile, sacked Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov on Monday came into the spotlight after being noticed in a line for a visa at the British Embassy in Moscow, according to Russian Internet tabloid lifenews.ru.
Lifenews said Luzhkov had been standing in line along with ordinary people to hand in his documents and have his fingerprints taken.
Baturina, Russia's richest woman, is reportedly already in Britain according to media reports.
"Frankly speaking, it is not clear whether the ex-mayor will receive a visa," lifenews.ru quoted Luzhkov's backers as saying. "He may face serious problems with his documents. When he was mayor, he set many British diplomats against himself over his vociferous anti-homosexual statements."
A report in Britain's Guardian newspaper says there is speculation that Luzhkov could be preparing for a life in exile, although his friend, singer Josif Kobzon, refuted the idea.
Luzhkov was fired by President Dmitry Medvedev in late September after an 18-year tenure.
MOSCOW, October 26 (RIA Novosti)
