Russia charges exiled oligarch in coup plot
ISN SECURITY WATCH (Thursday, 2 March: 16.30 CET) – Russian prosecutors have opened a criminal case against exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky on charges of plotting to overthrow the government, officials said on Thursday.
Prosecutors told reporters they had sent extradition papers to London, where Berezovsky is living in self-imposed exile. The case was officially opened last month, prosecutors said, but was not made public.
The case reportedly was opened after Berezovsky apparently outlined plans for a coup in an interview with a Russian media outlet.
“President [Vladimir] Putin violates the constitution and any violent action on the opposition’s part is justified today. That includes taking power by force, which is exactly what I am working on,” Berezovsky reportedly said, adding that Putin’s regime had “lost all legitimacy and was leading Russia into the abyss”.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) is said to be investigating the case.
Berezovsky could face up to 20 years in prison if Britain decides to extradite him to Russia.
On Monday, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Berezovsky’s refugee status could be reviewed at any time if he was “using the UK as a base for organizing violent disorder or terrorism in other countries”.
“Those granted asylum in the United Kingdom have duties to the UK which require, in particular, that they conform to its laws and regulations,” Straw told a press conference.
During the regime of Russian president Boris Yeltsin, Berezovsky was one of the country’s most influential oligarchs. In 2003, he went into exile in London.
In 2002, Russian prosecutors issued a warrant for Berezovsky’s arrest on fraud charges connected to his AvtoVAZ car manufacturer. Prosecutors also charge Berezovsky with embezzling large sums of money from Russia’s national airline, Aeroflot. Many critics believe Berezovsky is largely responsible for fleecing the country during the privatization that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.
Prosecutors told reporters they had sent extradition papers to London, where Berezovsky is living in self-imposed exile. The case was officially opened last month, prosecutors said, but was not made public.
The case reportedly was opened after Berezovsky apparently outlined plans for a coup in an interview with a Russian media outlet.
“President [Vladimir] Putin violates the constitution and any violent action on the opposition’s part is justified today. That includes taking power by force, which is exactly what I am working on,” Berezovsky reportedly said, adding that Putin’s regime had “lost all legitimacy and was leading Russia into the abyss”.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) is said to be investigating the case.
Berezovsky could face up to 20 years in prison if Britain decides to extradite him to Russia.
On Monday, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Berezovsky’s refugee status could be reviewed at any time if he was “using the UK as a base for organizing violent disorder or terrorism in other countries”.
“Those granted asylum in the United Kingdom have duties to the UK which require, in particular, that they conform to its laws and regulations,” Straw told a press conference.
During the regime of Russian president Boris Yeltsin, Berezovsky was one of the country’s most influential oligarchs. In 2003, he went into exile in London.
In 2002, Russian prosecutors issued a warrant for Berezovsky’s arrest on fraud charges connected to his AvtoVAZ car manufacturer. Prosecutors also charge Berezovsky with embezzling large sums of money from Russia’s national airline, Aeroflot. Many critics believe Berezovsky is largely responsible for fleecing the country during the privatization that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.
posted by Marko at 3/02/2006 10:40:00 AM
<< Home