Asbury Park Press
Aug 29, 2003
Russian Media Mogul
Out on Bail in Greece
By THEODORA TONGAS
Associated Press Writer
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- A former Russian media tycoon was
released on bail from a Greek maximum security facility Friday
pending an extradition request from Moscow, where he is accused of
fraud and money laundering in connection with a $262 million
loan.
Casually dressed in slacks and a T-shirt, Vladimir Gusinsky, who
is still barred from leaving Greece, made no comment as he got into a
car headed for a luxury hotel.
Gusinsky, one of Russia's so-called oligarchs who once counted the
independent NTV television station as part of his media empire, was
arrested Aug. 21 at the Athens airport after arriving from Tel Aviv,
Israel, reportedly for a family vacation.
Airport officials found Gusinsky's name on an Interpol wanted list
for fraud in excess of $250 million. A prosecutor ordered him held
pending an extradition request from Russia.
Moscow, however, so far has not filed such a request, according to
Greek officials and Gusinsky's lawyers. The Russian Prosecutor
General's Office said Tuesday that it was preparing one.
Russia must meet an Oct. 1 deadline or Gusinsky will be allowed to
leave Greece and have his bail returned, his lawyers said.
"We are waiting for the official extradition request from Russia
which has not come yet. We will see then what we will do," lawyer
Alexandros Likourezos said.
Gusinsky claims the charges against him are politically motivated
in retaliation for NTV's critical coverage of Russian President
Vladimir Putin and the war in Chechnya.
He is one of the few tycoons to face prosecution following Putin's
pledges to crack down on the influence of so-called oligarchs who
gained power under his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin.
Gusinsky was being held in the hospital wing of Korydallos maximum
security prison, in Athens' port of Piraeus. He was released after
posting $108,000 bail after a decision by a council of three
appellate judges, which also barred the 50-year-old businessman from
leaving the country.
The council accepted an argument from Gusinsky's lawyers that he
did not represent a flight risk and could not look after his business
interests from jail.
The government refused to comment. "We do not judge the decisions
made by the appellate council," government spokesman Christos
Protopapas said.
Russia initially sought Gusinsky on charges of misrepresenting the
assets of his company Media-Most to obtain a $262 million loan from
the government-controlled gas giant Gazprom. It later added
allegations of money laundering.
In 2001, Gazprom took over Gusinsky's media holdings led by NTV -
formerly Russia's main nationwide, independent network. The move was
widely criticized as a blow to media freedom in Russia and considered
possible retaliation for NTV's coverage.
Gusinsky, who holds both Russian and Israeli passports, was
arrested in December 2000 at his home in Spain, but in 2001 a Spanish
court refused to extradite him, saying the grounds for the case
wouldn't amount to a crime in Spain.
