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Prosecutor Has New Case against Berezovsky
The Russian Prosecutor General's Office has sent a request for the extradition of Boris Berezovsky to Great Britain with a demand to strip him of his status of political refugee. The Kremlin has also made an official statement on the need to hand over Berezovsky. In the meantime, Berezovsky's lawyers have acquainted themselves with the 122 volumes of material in a new case against the business. He is accused of embezzling $50 million from Aeroflot in a case that was investigated in record time.
The new extradition request comes after Berezovsky gave an interview to The Guardian of London in which he stated he is preparing a “palace coup” and providing financial assistance to members of the ruling elite who disagree with the policies of “the regime.”
Reaction to Berezovsky's statements, which are similar to statements he made to the media a year ago, was rapid in Moscow and London. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office opened a case against Berezovsky for plotting the overthrow of the constitutional order (article 278 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and the Foreign Ministry called the statements unacceptable. The British Foreign Office stated that iot was examining Berezovsky's statements.
Yesterday, Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika accused the British Home Office of being “an accomplice” to Berezovsky, who has “essentially founded a criminal group with the goal of overthrowing authority in the Russian Federation.” The Home Office was only willing to tell Kommersant about the extradition request that “such requests are examined by courts.”
Berezovsky backpedaled somewhat last Friday, saying that he did not have violent means of regime change in mind. He also said that, after the death of Alexander Litvinenko, his deportation from Britain is even less likely. Russian President Vladimir Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, replied on the pages of The Guardian that “The choice for the British government, and the wider British public, is clear: should it support a fugitive, bent on violent revolution against a democracy; or should it begin to question his outlook, his motives, and his ways of operating?”
The Prosecutor General also announced the end of a new three-day investigation of Berezovsky, in a case of embezzlement and money laundering of $50 million of Aeroflot money. Two other cases against Berezovsky in connection with Aeroflot have already come before the Russian courts.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Apr. 17, 2007
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