End of an era as Russian fraudster freed from jail

MOSCOW, May 22 (Reuters) A fraudster who fleeced millions of people out of their savings was released from prison today, ending a saga that symbolised the chaotic free-for-all of 1990s Russia.

Fresh from Communist rule and naive about finance, huge numbers of Russians bought shares in Sergei Mavrodi's investment vehicle. It was a fraudulent pyramid scheme and when it collapsed, investors were left with worthless pieces of paper.

Mavrodi, a 51-year-old mathematician, emerged from Moscow's Sailor's Rest detention centre in his trademark oversized glasses after completing a 4-1/2 year sentence for fraud.

Dressed in a black shirt and with unkempt shoulder-length hair, he said ''Thank you, thank you'' to an elderly well-wisher who handed him a bouquet of purple flowers. His bodyguards then rushed him past waiting journalists to his car.

Someone threw a jar of soured cream at his black jeep, but it bounced off and he sped away. A young protester held up a placard saying: ''You will be tried in the people's court!'' Mavrodi, whose hobby is collecting butterflies, plans to stay out of the limelight, his lawyer said.

''He has said he has no interest in business as a way of making money,'' said Olga Makarova. ''He is going to write some books ...

He has plenty to write about.'' DIFFERENT ERA For Russians living under President Vladimir Putin's firm rule and economic stability, Mavrodi is a figure from a different time although the drama surrounding him and his ''MMM'' pyramid scheme captivated the country for years.

Mavrodi said the ''MMM'' vouchers he sold were linked to company shares but they were in fact a confidence trick. They had no intrinsic value. As long as people wanted to buy them they could be redeemed for cash but only until the bubble burst.

As the scam unravelled, riot police were called in to contain thousands of people who turned up outside Mavrodi's Moscow office to claim their money.

Charged with fraud, Mavrodi won immunity from prosecution by winning election to the national parliament. After this immunity was waived he went on the run for five years until his arrest in 2003.

Even now, a hardy band of ''MMM'' investors believe Mavrodi is a genius who was made a scapegoat by the Kremlin while politically connected businessmen pilfered state assets and went unpunished.

''He saved thousands of grannies from starvation at a time when they were going round rubbish bins looking for food,'' said Inna Konyuk, who waited eight hours outside the prison for a glimpse of Mavrodi.

''What happened was not his fault. He was always trying to pay people what they were owed.'' REUTERS KK PM0032