Vladimir, Bill's friend

The Spanish authorities did not hesitate to send Vladimir Gusinsky to prison again

The head of the Media-Most holding, Vladimir Gusinsky, had to live in a prison cell again over the past holidays - now in Spain. Early on Tuesday morning, he was escorted there by police, who faithfully carried out the instructions of the Russian Prosecutor General's Office, which issued an arrest warrant for the disgraced oligarch a month ago. According to Spanish authorities, Vladimir Gusinsky was detained at his rented luxury villa “Crucero” (“Cruiser”) in the resort town of San Roque on the southern coast. On the same day, the tycoon, accompanied by police, was sent to Madrid, where he appeared before Judge Baltasar Garzona (known for initiating a case against Augusto Pinochet), who, having examined the case materials, ordered the arrest of Vladimir Gusinsky and sent him to the Soto del Real prison "near Madrid. The judge motivated his decision by the fact that Mr. Gusinsky is a very rich man, and this may allow him to quickly leave the country in order to avoid consideration of the case.

According to the Spanish press, the prison in which the Russian oligarch is currently being held is considered “exemplary.” All its inhabitants live in single or double cells with their own toilet and have the opportunity to use the sports complex, library and even a huge swimming pool. However, such favorable conditions, in comparison with the Butyrka prison already inhabited by Mr. Gusinsky, are unlikely to please the oligarch. The fact is that Spain, within the framework of the European Convention on Extradition, has been quite willing to extradite its citizens to Russia in recent years. Moreover, only a month ago, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Vladimir Rushailo, held successful negotiations in Madrid on further expanding cooperation between law enforcement agencies of the two countries.

In this regard, the oligarch has a fairly high chance of returning to his homeland in handcuffs. It is expected that this will be decided, approximately in January, by the National Court, to which the Russian authorities are obliged to provide materials evidencing the oligarch’s guilt before this date. In the meantime, the formal side of Mr. Gusinsky’s detention is being observed: according to Spanish law, fraud, which the oligarch is accused of in Russia, is also considered a serious crime, and according to international legal practice, this is precisely the basis for starting extradition proceedings. However, whether the Spanish court will consider the evidence presented by the Prosecutor General’s Office to be sufficient against Mr. Gusinsky is still unknown. A Spanish Foreign Ministry spokesman said his country's judiciary had no intention of entering into a debate over whether Mr. Gusinsky was, as he claims, a victim of political persecution. The Spanish Foreign Ministry stressed that the authorities only fulfilled their obligations under the international arrest warrant.

The oligarch’s Russian lawyer, Henry Reznik, on the one hand, expressed indignation at the actions of the Spanish authorities against his client, and on the other, he doubted that Spain would ultimately extradite the oligarch: “The Spanish judicial authorities will only need to look at the so-called Protocol No. 6, where Gusinsky is guaranteed freedom in exchange for shares (of the Media-Most holding - Ed. ), and everything will become clear for them.” However, apparently aware of the seriousness of his situation, the tycoon acquired one of the most famous Spanish lawyers, Antonio Garrigues Walker.

It seems that Mr. Gusinsky has no one to blame for what happened but himself. According to Mr. Reznik, he himself dissuaded his client from traveling to Spain, warning about possible problems, but the tycoon apparently considered that the two days for which he came to San Roque to visit his family was too short a period, so that local authorities decide to arrest such an influential person like him. According to the Pais newspaper, Vladimir Gusinsky told the police who came to pick him up: “You are making a mistake, you don’t know who I am. I'm a friend of Bill Clinton."

Victor PAUKOV