Mukhtar Ablyazov to be extradited first to Russia

The Court of Appeal of Aix-en-Provence ruled today that Mukhtar Ablyazov, the ex-CEO of the BTA Bank, accused of embezzlement of funds, will first be extradited to Russia. The Court also agreed on the possibility of extraditing Ablyazov to Ukraine.

In 2009, a criminal investigation against the banker was initiated in several countries - Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine. By that time Ablyazov had disappeared and was arrested only last August in the south of France.

Ablyazov's lawyers argue that charges brought against him are politically motivated.