Fugitive Kazakh ex-banker to spend 40 days in French prison

Fugitive ex-banker Mukhtar Ablyazov, wanted by the Kazakh law enforcement agencies, will spend 40 days in custody in France, spokesman for the Kazakh General Prosecutor’s Office, Nurdaulet Suindikov, told a news conference on Tuesday. “On August 1, the court of French Aix-en-Provence sanctioned the arrest of Ablyazov for 40 days in line with the French criminal procedure legislation,” he said. “Ablyazov will remain in prison in the city of Luynes until all procedures connected with his extradition are finished,” Suindikov added. “The Kazakh General Prosecutor’s Office makes every effort for the return of Ablyazov to Kazakhstan,” Suindikov said. Suindikov also said the French law enforcement agencies consider at the moment Ablyazov’s extradition to Ukraine. “France and Ukraine are participants in the European Convention on Extradition, while Kazakhstan is not in it,” the spokesman said. Ablyazov was detained in southern France on July 31. He was initially hiding in Great Britain but later fled after the High Court of London ruled to sentence him to 22 months in prison for disrespect of the court, the press service specified. Ablyazov led BTA Bank from 2005 to 2009, when he was removed from office and accused of fraud. In February 2009 he fled to Great Britain.