“Russian law enforcement bodies will continue to demandBorodin’s extradition as he has been charged with embezzlement inabsentia and put on the international wanted list,” theInterior Ministry announced on Friday.
The statement came soon after Andrei Borodin said Britishauthorities had granted him political asylum after ruling that thecase against the banker was politically motivated. Borodin blamedRussian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, but added that there weremore unnamed Russian politicians who are seeking his downfall.
The accusations have been refuted by Dmitry Medvedev’s presssecretary, Natalya Timakova, who stressed that the prosecution ofBorodin was an ordinary case based solely on criminal charges.
Timakova went on to say that unfortunately the current practiceof granting political asylum, especially in Great Britain, haslittle connection with the nature of prosecution in applicant’shome country or by Interpol. “Once you announce politicalpersecution as loud as possible you are guaranteed to get politicalasylum,” the press secretary said. “We can only regret thatthis simple ruse worked again in the United Kingdom,” sheconcluded.
Andrei Borodin headed the Bank of Moscow – the commercial bankfounded and supported by the Moscow city administration - from 1995till 2011. He was also one of the close allies of Mayor YuriLuzhkov who was city boss for almost the whole period of modernRussian history and whose wife, Yelena Baturina, was recognized asRussia’s richest woman with assets in construction, real estate andchemicals.
In September 2010 Dmitry Medvedev dismissed Luzhkov and soonafter that law enforcers opened acriminal case against Borodin and another top executive of theBank of Moscow – Dmitry Akulinin, suspecting the two men ofcomplicity in the embezzling of over 12 billion roubles (about $400million) from the city budget. The criminal case expanded toinclude the embezzlement of 6.7 billion roubles ($223 million) fromthe state funds.
Borodin and Akulinin fled Russia and were put on an Interpolwanted list. Borodin moved to the United Kingdom. Britain has noextradition agreement with Russia and is already hosting severalwanted Russian businessmen, like the former Kremlin insider BorisBerezovsky.
Yuri Luzhkov also left Russia after losing his post and aftersome time the media reported that his family moved to London.
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