The Polish court brought Andrei Chernyakov to the Russian prison

The Warsaw Court of Appeal authorized the extradition of Andrei Chernyakov to the Russian Federation. The final decision remains with the Ministry of Justice of Poland.
14.09.2018
Kommersant
Origin source
The Warsaw Court of Appeal dismissed the complaint of the former head of the NGO Kosmos, Andrei Chernyakov, on the decision of the first instance court to extradite the businessman to Russia. Now the point in the fate of the builder of the Alabian-Baltic tunnel in Moscow, who did not return the Bank of Moscow more than 15 billion rubles. and declared on international wanted list, the Ministry of Justice of Poland must put it. Lawyer's lawyers claim that their client allegedly wanted to return to Russia to prove his innocence.

According to Kommersant sources, recently the 2nd Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal considered Andrei Chernyakov's complaint against the decision of the 8th Criminal Division of the Warsaw Regional Court, which allowed the extradition of the businessman to Russia. Mr. Chernyakov complained in the complaint that if there is a return to his homeland, there is a real threat to his life. However, this argument was not persuaded by the judges, and they recognized the decision to extradite as legal, refusing to satisfy the complaint. In the coming days, the materials of the case of the former head of "Kosmos" should be transferred from the court to the Ministry of Justice of Poland, in the competence of which is the final decision on extradition. Andrei Chernyakov himself will wait for him in the Warsaw prison of Bialolanka. It is interesting that this prison in the media is sometimes called one of the most severe in terms of regime and conditions of detention in Europe.

Let us note that the issue of the extradition of Mr. Chernyakov to Russia was considered in Warsaw from December last year. As previously told Kommersant, first, Andrei Chernyakov was hiding in the UK, where he was sought by representatives of the main lender, the Bank of Moscow (now the BM bank, is a member of VTB Group). They filed a lawsuit against the businessman in the High Court of London for the disclosure of his assets. The businessman refused to do this and fled the British justice in a van with furniture, hiding in a cache behind the cupboards and armchairs. As a result, in London, he received two years of prison in absentia for contempt of court. Transit through France, Andrei Chernyakov arrived in Germany, in Potsdam. However, there the local residents quickly informed the police about the new neighbor, who looks like the businessman wanted by Interpol and creditors. The personality of the former head of the NGO Kosmos was established immediately, but he was not taken into custody because in Germany the businessman had a residence permit. Note that the sentence passed in England does not provide for tracing and arrest in other countries. However, Mr. Chernyakov decided not to tempt fate: he got into the car at night and went to Poland, where, as it turned out later, he intended to move to Ukraine. The businessman was detained while passing passport control before the flight to Kiev at the Warsaw airport named after Frederic Chopin.

Almost immediately after the news of the arrest of Mr. Chernyakov, the General Prosecutor's Office of Russia sent a request to the Warsaw Public Prosecutor's Office for his extradition. Hearings on this issue in the district court of the Polish capital began before the New Year. The meetings were held in closed session, and the court several times extended the term of the businessman's stay in prison, although the lawyers of the runaway businessman repeatedly asked to release him, having chosen any other preventive measure. Mr. Chernyakov himself tried to avoid extradition, asking for political asylum in Poland, but was refused.

In the Polish court, Andrei Chernyakov, with the help of an interpreter, tried to prove that the charges brought against him in Russia were biased, and the criminal case against him was initiated for political reasons. A businessman, who had grown noticeably thinner during his time in prison, also said that Russian security services were following him around the world. And his lawyers provided the court with materials allegedly indicative of human rights violations in Russia, including in places of detention. However, the District Court of Warsaw, having listened to these arguments, limited himself to requesting from the Russian side a certificate of the conditions of detention in a particular SIZO, where Mr. Chernyakov could be placed. It is not known exactly which institution is involved, but the response of the Polish judges satisfied. As a result, in June a decision was taken on the possibility of extradition.

It should be noted that none of Mr. Chernyakov's relatives in the Polish court ever appeared, even his wife, secular lioness Anastasia Erokhova, who fled with him from the UK.

Recall that the investigators of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation Andrei Chernyakov is accused of particularly large fraud (Part 4, Article 159 of the Criminal Code) and fraud in the lending (Part 4, Article 159.1 of the Criminal Code). According to the investigation, having received a loan from the Bank of Moscow for the completion of the Alabian-Baltic tunnel, he sent a portion of the funds to other projects, including the construction of the Judo Academy in Zvenigorod near Moscow. As a result, the loan was not repaid, and NGO debts to the bank exceeded 30 billion rubles. At the same time, the personal debt of the guarantor Mr Chernyakov exceeded 15 billion rubles, and the damage from frauds at the sports facility was about 30 million rubles.

Russian lawyer Mr. Chernyakov Ruslan Koblev told Kommersant that he heard about the decision of the Polish court, but has no official confirmation. He called the situation comical, because, he said, Andrei Chernyakov had long sought support from the business ombudsman Boris Titov and himself intended to voluntarily return to Russia to prove his innocence. The defender stressed that two different criminal cases of fraud with the money of "Kosmos" - in Moscow and the Sverdlovsk region, concerning the same sums are being investigated with respect to his client. According to Mr. Koblev, now the Ministry of Justice of Poland will have to make a request to Russia regarding what exactly is accused Andrei Chernyakov, since in the materials of the Prosecutor General's Office and the investigation, in the opinion of the lawyer, there are a lot of inaccuracies - about the limitation period for bringing to responsibility, etc.

"We welcome the decision of the court. We emphasize that VTB Group will seek full recovery of the debtor's money by all available means within the framework of the legislation, "the press service of the VTB Group told Kommersant.

Society

Previous Article
Next article