Thursday, August 6, 2009

Spain Refuses to Extradite Fugitive YUKOS Employee

Spain rejected Russia’s request to extradite Antonio Valdez Garcia, a Spanish citizen who had worked for YUKOS, former Russian oil giant, now defunct. In 2003, after the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the head of YUKOS, Valdez Garcia resigned and left to Spain. In 2005 Russian investigators invited him to Russia to testify. According to Valdez Garcia, upon arrival to Russia he was detained and tortured to force him to testify against Khodorkovsky and other YUKOS top managers. In 2006 Valdez Garcia was put on trial on corporate theft and money laundering charges; the prosecution asked to sentence him to 11 years of imprisonment. In 2007, amidst the trial, Valdez Garcia managed to break away from the guards and escape from Russia. Russia asked Spain to extradite Valdez Garcia, but the Spanish government declined the request.


http://gazeta.ru/politics/2009/08/05_a_3233385.shtml
(Russ.)

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