MOSCOW -- The mysterious appearance of armed, masked men Friday at Moscow's most politically powerful bank may have been part of a government investigation into the "Black Tuesday" collapse of the ruble, according to reports.
Both Interfax and Itar-Tass quoted sources yesterday as saying that the five-hour display of armaments by several dozen anonymous men outside the Most Bank headquarters was connected with efforts to implicate the bank in the currency's crash Oct. 11, when the ruble lost 27 percent of its value.
But the assertion barely begins to solve the mystery.
For one thing, at no time did it appear that anyone from the special squad entered the building. Bank officials said that nothing was taken.
And although the bank's management says that its own security staff identified the men as belonging to the Main Department for Security (GUO in its Russian initials), that agency, which reports to President Boris N. Yeltsin, denied yesterday that it had carried out the operation.
Itar-Tass reported only that "a secret service" had been involved.
Yesterday's reports also linked the move against the bank, which is said to have close ties to high-ranking former KGB officers, to Mr. Yeltsin's dismissal of Yevgeny Savostyanov, head of counterintelligence for Moscow.
The Moscow mayor's office, which also has links to the bank, told Interfax that the operation may have had to do with fears of an assassination attempt against Mr. Yeltsin, who regularly passes by.
But, again, it seems that the masked men did little except stand menacingly outside the building.
They did force five or six people out of bank cars and make them lie down. Some were beaten, and they were later arrested.
A terse statement issued by Mr. Yeltsin's office yesterday said that there had been complaints of "human rights violations" during an operation conducted by "a Russian secret service" and that a full investigation into the allegations will be conducted.
"The culprits will be severely punished by the president," the statement said.