The lawyers approached for comment by RIA Novosti are particularly skeptical about prospects for incriminating UES managers on "negligence" charges.
"Neither the energy holding management on the whole nor Anatoly Chubais personally can be held responsible for negligence as they are not public servants," Viktor Burobin, president of the Yustina law firm said.
Sergei Maximov, an expert of the State Duma anti-corruption committee, shares this point of view: "It is impossible because Mr. Chubais is not in public service and, therefore, cannot be held responsible for negligence, just like any other executive of a commercial organization, with the Unified Energy Systems (UES) operating in the latter capacity (even if the state owns 52 percent of UES)".
At the same time, experts do not rule out a possibility that prosecutors may, in compliance with the Russian Criminal Code, advance "abuse of office" charges against the UES management.
"Yes, such charges may be brought against the management," says Albert Yeganyan, a managing partner of the Vegas-Leks law firm.
Sergei Maximov pointed out, however, that "it is yet to be proved that the abuse of office in this case was committed with the purpose of gaining personal benefits or privileges or for inflicting damage on other parties". In Maximov's opinion, the latter is "practically impossible to prove".
Among other things, Yeganyan of Vegas-Leks added that he was somewhat perplexed: "What does Chubais have to do with all that? The Chagino power transmission substation, an accident at which had triggered off the rolling power outage, belongs to the Federal Power Transmission Network company. The latter leased it out to Mosenergo which undertook to manage the substation properly and keep it in due working condition. I do not see how the parent holding company can be held responsible here," he said.
"We do not bring to criminal account Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov for recent explosions at military ammunition depots in the Primorye (Maritime) Territory," Yeganyan said.
The Prosecutor General's Office launched a criminal case on May 25. On that day, an accident at the Chagino power transmission substation caused a major power outage in a vast part of Moscow as well as in a number of towns in the Moscow, Tula, Ryazan and Kaluga regions.
