Russia comments French decision not to extradite Ablyazov

Russian Prosecutor General’s Office does not agree with the decision of the French Council of State that refused to extradite Kazakh banker Mukhtar Ablyazov to Russia, the office’s mass media department chief Alexandr Kurennoy said.

"The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation regards this decision as groundless as well as violating norms of the international law and contradicting decisions that were earlier made by French courts," Sputnik cited he statement as saying.

Ablyazov, who is suspected of crimes ranging from embezzlement to money laundering, was arrested in France in July and stands accused of embezzling $5 billion in Russia and $400 million in Ukraine. 

In 2015, then-Prime Minister of France Manuel Valls signed an extradition order for Ablyazov but, on December 9, the French Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court, canceled the order saying that the Russian request for extradition was politically motivated.