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Russian prosecutors indict Berezovsky on fraud, money laundering charges

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Russia's Prosecutor General's Office on Tuesday announced the indictment of exiled business tycoon Boris Berezovsky for fraud and money laundering. The charges, filed under the Russian Criminal Code, stem from a deal arranged between Russian car manufacturers AvtoVAZ and LogoVAZ that left 5560 cars unpaid for and resulted in the unauthorized use of approximately $24 million. Prosecutors allege that Berezovsky and his associates used the money for investments in real estate, stock in media companies and other expenditures. RIA Novosti has local coverage. A former associate of Boris Yeltsin and a political opponent of current Russian Prime Minister and former president Vladimir Putin, Berezovsky has been the target of several past criminal proceedings. In March, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office opened an investigation to determine if Berezovsky falsely claimed the country's secret service had targeted him for assassination. In 2007, he was accused of plotting a coup against Putin. Berezovsky currently resides in the United Kingdom as a political refugee. Britain has refused Russian extradition requests, leading a Russian court in 2007 to sentence Berezovsky in absentia to six years in prison after he was found guilty of embezzling 214 million rubles from Russian national airline Aeroflot.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on November 25, 2008 (boomark / email).