Translated material
Good old extradition
The Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation sent another request to the UK to extradite Berezovsky
The Russian Prosecutor General's Office announced yesterday that it had sent another request to the UK asking for the extradition of Boris Berezovsky and deprivation of his political refugee status, which he received there in the fall of 2003. This time, according to the department, there are very good reasons to expect that their demands will be met. The reason for a new attempt to return the disgraced oligarch to his homeland was his interview, which was published on Friday in the British edition of The Guardian. In it, the Russian political emigrant again stated that he was giving money to people “close to the president who are preparing a palace coup.” True, after the British Foreign Office condemned the statements published in the newspaper, Mr. Berezovsky corrected himself, noting that he was a supporter of “bloodless” regime change.Nevertheless, British law enforcement agencies “took note of Berezovsky’s statements,” saying that a legal assessment would be given to them after careful study. The Prosecutor General's Office, in turn, opened a new criminal case against Mr. Berezovsky, and the head of the department, Yuri Chaika, sent an international legal order to London, in which he draws attention to the “unacceptable behavior of Boris Berezovsky, who regularly demonstrates to the world community his intentions for a violent seizure of power in the Russian Federation.” "
“We believe that he created a criminal group whose goal is a violent change of constitutional power in the Russian Federation. The connivance of the British Ministry of Internal Affairs gives him the opportunity to feel unpunished,” Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika said yesterday. Criminal case under Art. 278 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (forcible seizure of power or forcible retention of power), which the Prosecutor General's Office opened immediately after the publication of the interview, became the second such case in the biography of Mr. Berezovsky. A little over a year ago, the disgraced oligarch already announced on the pages of the British media that he was preparing a “forceful takeover of power” in Russia. On February 16, 2006, Russian investigators accused him of plotting a coup. On March 1, 2006, documents for the extradition of Mr. Berezovsky were sent to the UK Home Office. He was also put on the international wanted list again, and the relevant materials were sent to the Interpol NCB in Russia. However, thenthe political emigrant got away with only a suggestion from British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw . And Boris Berezovsky himself later stated that his statements do not contradict British laws.
It is not yet clear whether official London will now accept any sanctions against the disgraced oligarch. The issue of his extradition was previously considered by the British authorities several times, and each time Russian prosecutors were refused. Yesterday, the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the United Kingdom (UK) did not comment on receiving the request from Russia. “We neither confirm nor deny receipt of extradition requests,” a department spokesman said.
Meanwhile, British law enforcement agencies continue to study Berezovsky's statements about the need for a forceful change of power in Russia, made by him in an interview with the Guardian newspaper on April 13. The London Police press service confirmed that work continues. The UK Home Office added that Border and Immigration Agency staff are also conducting a thorough analysis of comments attributed to Berezovsky. It is this department that can resolve the issue of the political emigrant status of the disgraced oligarch.
Yesterday it became known that the Prosecutor General's Office had completed an investigation into another criminal case in which Boris Berezovsky is accused of embezzling 214 million rubles. from the Aeroflot company . For a long time, Mr. Berezovsky was involved in the so-called “Aeroflot case” (investigated since the late 90s), only as a witness. However, during the investigation, investigators named Mr. Berezovsky as the author of the entire scheme for the non-return of foreign currency funds from abroad and their laundering. It was not possible to detain the main suspect, and the top managers of the company, who, as the investigation noted, brought the criminal plan to life, were put behind bars. A number of defendants in this case have already been convicted. In particular, in the summer of 2006, the Savelovsky Court of Moscow sentenced the deputy general director of Aeroflot Nikolai Glushkov, the chief accountant Lidiya Kryzhevskaya and the head of the FOK company Roman Sheinin to two years of suspended imprisonment each, with a probationary period of one year. The court took into account that the accused were already elderly, disabled and not dangerous to society. The criminal prosecution of Krasnenker, former deputy general director for commercial issues at Aeroflot, was dropped in 2005 due to his death.
According to Boris Berezovsky's lawyers, Semyon Ariy and Andrey Borovkov, they will need several months to study the materials of their client's criminal case. “There are 122 volumes in total,” Mr. Aria said.
After the suspect and lawyers familiarize themselves with the materials, a trial date will be set. According to Yuri Chaika, if Berezovsky does not appear at the trial, the case will be considered in absentia.