Russia Says It Played A Part In Double Jet Downing

We've all read the stories about corruption in Russian officialdom, where 500 rubles will buy you a seat on a jetliner -- even if you're a terrorist.

That's how Russian prosecutors say at least one of two suicide bombers got on board a pair of Tupelov passenger aircraft that exploded almost simultaneously August 24th.

"We have checked how the anti-corruption law is enforced in regional government bodies. The picture is assuming a dangerous shape. The inspection uncovered 22,000 such violations, including bribery, in half a year alone," Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov told the Russian news agency Interfax.

To hear Ustinov tell it, a go-between paid an employee of Sibir Airlines a whopping $34 to get the terror suspect on board a Tu-154 that was one of two jetliners bombed out of the sky. Armen Arutyunov is suspected of helping both female terrorists get last-minute tickets aboard the doomed flights. The women he's accused of helping -- Amanta Nagayeva and Satsita Dzhebirkhanova -- were roommates in the capitol of Chechnya, long a bone of contention between Moscow and Chechen separatists.

And even for all that, Ustinov Thursday said the bombers had almost been caught. "Police officers spotted them, confiscated their passports and handed them over to a police captain responsible for anti- terrorism operations to examine their belongings and check these people for their potential role in terrorist attacks," he said. "The captain let them go without any check, and they started to try to obtain tickets in the same buildings."

FMI: www.gov.ru