Eveniment

Swiss to Extradite Russian Ex-Minister

By DANIEL FRIEDLI, Associated Press Writer


Switzerland has decided to extradite Russia's former nuclear minister to the United States on charges of stealing up to $9 million that was intended to improve security of nuclear plants, the Justice Ministry said Monday.

Russia has been fighting the U.S. extradition request for Yevgeny Adamov out of fear that he could reveal nuclear secrets while facing the charges in the United States.

Adamov has accepted extradition only to Russia and has 30 days to appeal to the Swiss supreme court, the ministry said.

Earlier in the day, Adamov began a hunger strike, apparently to press for extradition to Russia, but it was over by early afternoon. "I saw him eating lunch," Adamov's lawyer, Stefan Wehrenberg said.

Swiss authorities arrested the nuclear physicist on a U.S. warrant on May 2, while he was visiting his daughter in Bern. A federal grand jury in Pittsburgh has since indicted him on charges of conspiracy to transfer stolen money and securities, conspiracy to defraud the United States, money laundering and tax evasion.

U.S. authorities suspect Adamov of embezzling U.S. Energy Department funds and diverting them into private projects in the United States, Ukraine and Russia.

The U.S. extradition request was given priority over the Russian one because, "had priority been given to Russia, Adamov's Russian citizenship would have meant that he could not subsequently have been extradited onward to the (United States)," the ministry said.

It said also the United States could later deport Adamov to Russia after its justice proceedings conclude.

Adamov was appointed Atomic Energy Minister in 1998 by then-Russian President Boris Yeltsin, but came under criticism in connection with corruption allegations and his proposal to import nuclear waste to Russia for reprocessing.

He also angered U.S. authorities when he shrugged off their objections to Russia's assistance to Iran's nuclear energy program.

In 2001, the anti-corruption committee of Russia's State Duma, or lower house of parliament, accused Adamov of illegally setting up companies inside and outside Russia, including a consulting firm called Omeka registered in Monroeville, Pennsylvania.

Adamov was dismissed from his post in March 2001 as part of a Cabinet reshuffle engineered by President Vladimir Putin one year after taking office. After leaving the minister's post, Adamov joined the Dollezhal Institute and worked on projects to improve safety at Russia's 11 Chernobyl-type reactors still in operation.

The Russian Embassy in Bern was not immediately available to comment.

Viktor Ilyukhin, a communist lawmaker in Russia's State Duma, questioned the U.S. motive in its extradition request. "Parliament believes the U.S. is interested in having at its disposal a Russian ex-minister with secret information of great interest to U.S. intelligence services," Ilyukhin was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

___

La 2005-10-03 23:50:46, Mos Grigore a scris:

Daca o fi sa se apropie sfarsitul Lumii,atunci sa stiti ca dela Rusi o sa se traga...ei au vandut si vand tehnologia nucleara legal si sub bratz lumii
a trei...a cum ar fi Iranul....promotorul extremismului Islamic.

> Swiss to Extradite Russian Ex-Minister
> 
> By DANIEL FRIEDLI, Associated Press Writer
> 
> 
> Switzerland has decided to extradite Russia's former nuclear minister
> to the United States on charges of stealing up to $9 million that was
> intended to improve security of nuclear plants, the Justice Ministry
> said Monday.
> 
> Russia has been fighting the U.S. extradition request for Yevgeny
> Adamov out of fear that he could reveal nuclear secrets while facing
> the charges in the United States.
> 
> Adamov has accepted extradition only to Russia and has 30 days to
> appeal to the Swiss supreme court, the ministry said.
> 
> Earlier in the day, Adamov began a hunger strike, apparently to press
> for extradition to Russia, but it was over by early afternoon.
> "I saw him eating lunch," Adamov's lawyer, Stefan
> Wehrenberg said.
> 
> Swiss authorities arrested the nuclear physicist on a U.S. warrant on
> May 2, while he was visiting his daughter in Bern. A federal grand
> jury in Pittsburgh has since indicted him on charges of conspiracy to
> transfer stolen money and securities, conspiracy to defraud the United
> States, money laundering and tax evasion.
> 
> U.S. authorities suspect Adamov of embezzling U.S. Energy Department
> funds and diverting them into private projects in the United States,
> Ukraine and Russia.
> 
> The U.S. extradition request was given priority over the Russian one
> because, "had priority been given to Russia, Adamov's Russian
> citizenship would have meant that he could not subsequently have been
> extradited onward to the (United States)," the ministry said.
> 
> It said also the United States could later deport Adamov to Russia
> after its justice proceedings conclude.
> 
> Adamov was appointed Atomic Energy Minister in 1998 by then-Russian
> President Boris Yeltsin, but came under criticism in connection with
> corruption allegations and his proposal to import nuclear waste to
> Russia for reprocessing.
> 
> He also angered U.S. authorities when he shrugged off their objections
> to Russia's assistance to Iran's nuclear energy program.
> 
> In 2001, the anti-corruption committee of Russia's State Duma, or
> lower house of parliament, accused Adamov of illegally setting up
> companies inside and outside Russia, including a consulting firm
> called Omeka registered in Monroeville, Pennsylvania.
> 
> Adamov was dismissed from his post in March 2001 as part of a Cabinet
> reshuffle engineered by President Vladimir Putin one year after
> taking office. After leaving the minister's post, Adamov joined the
> Dollezhal Institute and worked on projects to improve safety at
> Russia's 11 Chernobyl-type reactors still in operation.
> 
> The Russian Embassy in Bern was not immediately available to comment.
> 
> Viktor Ilyukhin, a communist lawmaker in Russia's State Duma,
> questioned the U.S. motive in its extradition request.
> "Parliament believes the U.S. is interested in having at its
> disposal a Russian ex-minister with secret information of great
> interest to U.S. intelligence services," Ilyukhin was quoted by
> the Interfax news agency as saying.
> 
> ___
> 
> 
> 

La 2005-10-03 23:50:46, Mos Grigore a scris:

>  De ce nu al extradeaza si pe Rich in America ? A furat milioane de deolari dupa urma petrolului ,sata ascuns tot in Elvetia de ani de zile.

Se joaca un joc MARE cu tipul asta.

.

La 2005-10-04 00:38:18, Doro a scris:

> La 2005-10-03 23:50:46, Mos Grigore a scris:
> 
> >  De ce nu al extradeaza si pe Rich in America ? A furat milioane de deolari dupa urma petrolului ,sata ascuns tot in Elvetia de ani de zile.
>