12.07.2015 Views

The Big Breach - Index of

The Big Breach - Index of

The Big Breach - Index of

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Big</strong> <strong>Breach</strong>; From Top Secret to Maximum SecurityCompliments <strong>of</strong> http://www.192.comLudmilla Sushkova 'who works for the Andrew Nurnberg agency'. He didnot know her telephone number, but gave her e-mail address, adding thathis London agent had already contacted her. 'Hopefully this will getthings moving', he said.However Kirill Chashin - impatient with the delay over an agent – hadalready taken steps to 'get things moving'. He had contactedTomlinson directly and urged him to find another agent in any othercountry but Russia. On April 17 - some two weeks before Fielding'ssuggestion <strong>of</strong> an agent in Moscow - Tomlinson had appointedMediaPartners GmbH in Zurich; the deal was concluded in Switzerland onFriday May 9 after Kirill Chashin flew in to meet the company anddeposited $40,000 as an advance on royalties.It was to be a short-lived arrangement. Three days later, on Monday,May 12, 2000, Media Partners received a letter from lawyers, promptedby London, threatening action against them and citing a Swissinjunction against Tomlinson granted in June 1999. <strong>The</strong> literary agentswere a small firm, without the kind <strong>of</strong> resources they would have neededto fight an expensive legal battle; in the circumstances they felt theyhad no choice but to withdraw and to refund the money to Chashin.Recognising that now there was virtually no chance <strong>of</strong> any Westernliterary agent being willing to take the risk <strong>of</strong> finding themselvesembroiled in a war with the British government, Kirill Chashin brieflyconsidered the alternative <strong>of</strong> the Moscow agent suggested by Fielding aweek earlier but quickly decided that it would not be in his interests.If she was appointed she might well start 'trading' the book amongother publishers, as she would be entitled to do - and he might wellthen find himself being priced-out with nothing to show for the effortshe had already made.So he immediately contacted Richard Tomlinson directly to suggest thatinstead they should just deal between themselves on the samecontractual terms which had been just been negotiated and settled inSwitzerland. <strong>The</strong> author agreed. Chashin then arranged for a $10,000advance to be deposited into Tomlinson's account; with that the authorsent <strong>of</strong>f his manuscript to Moscow. It was just in time; a few hourslater on Saturday May 17 Italian police arrived at Tomlinson's Riminiapartment and - presumably on instructions from London - arrested theauthor and confiscated his computer.However, with the manuscript safely in Moscow, there was now nothingthat could be done to prevent its publication. As a necessary firststep Kirill Chashin needed an editor; the man chosen for that was anAmerican journalist Steve U who had worked in Moscow years ago, andwhom he had come to know as a friend. Steve U had gone back toWashington, but he was willing to take on the job - the terms beingthat he would be paid all his expenses, including the costs <strong>of</strong> a tripto Rimini to meet the author.It would not be long before Steve U would also find himself underpressure from the authorities - in his case, the FBI. <strong>The</strong>y summonedhim to their local <strong>of</strong>fices and there produced MI6 surveillancephotographs <strong>of</strong> Chashin and Tomlinson together in Rimini. On the basis<strong>of</strong> information provided to them by London the FBI claimed that Chashinwas 'an undercover agent with the FSB’ - and warned Steve U to keeppage- 239 - To purchase the original limited edition hardback version <strong>of</strong> this bookplease call 08000 192 192 or go to http://www.192.com

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!