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Adamov to Prove Not Guilty
Russian former minister of atomic energy Evgeny Adamov, who is now in a Bern prison, rejected simplified extradition to Russia. Adamov said he would go back to Moscow as a free man, having proven his innocence under the charges of Pittsburg attorneys and Russian prosecutors.
Adamov was arrested in Bern (Switzerland) in early this month under the warrant released by Pittsburg Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of stealing and laundering around $9 million allocated by the United States for a nuclear safety program carried out in the Moscow Research and Design Institute of Energy Engineering. Adamov had headed the institute before he was appointed a minister. In the United States, Adamov may face up to 60 years in prison and $1.75-million penalty. Adamov is charged with the fraud and office abuse under the criminal case initiated in Russia. Moscow Basmanny Court has released a warrant for his arrest.
Adamov had rejected simplified extradition to the United States offered by the Swiss authorities early May. Past Friday, he was offered simplified extradition to Russia, which he also turned down. In a statement passed by Adamov’s lawyer to Kommersant yesterday, the former minister said he “declined simplified extradition to both countries (the United States and Russia), which submitted respective requests.” “I consider my arrest made at the U.S. request illegal. I am willing to leave the prison as a free man and, in this status, to return to my home country [Russia],” Adamov explained his intentions, adding that, after it, as a free man, he would challenge any unreasonable accusations and stand up in any court”.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of May 27, 2005
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