Fugitive Russian Banker Gets Asylum in UK

Self-exiled former Bank of Moscow chief executive Andrei Borodin has been granted political asylum in Britain, his lawyer said on Friday. In an interview with Vedomosti business daily published on Friday, Borodin said that in his appeal for asylum he maintained the criminal case against him in Russia was politically motivated. Moscow will seek Borodin’s extradition regardless of his status in the UK, the Russian Interior Ministry said on Friday. “Russian law enforcement agencies will continue to demand Borodin’s extradition, as he has been charged in absentia with fraud and is on an international wanted list,” the Ministry said. Russian investigators launched a criminal case against Borodin and his former first deputy Dmitry Akulinin in late 2010 on charges of large-scale fraud involving state funds at Bank of Moscow, which functioned as the capital's chief investment vehicle under former Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130301/179750701/Ex-Bank-of-Moscow-Chief-Gets-Asylum-in-Britain.html