MOSCOW, November 22 (RIA Novosti) – The jailed chief executive of Russia’s biggest potash producer, Uralkali, has been brought to Moscow from Minsk following an extradition request.
Vladislav Baumgertner, who was arrested in absentia by a Moscow court in October over abuse of office charges, has been placed in custody in a pre-trial detention center in Moscow, the Federal Penitentiary Service said Friday.
The extradition is expected to end a political row between Moscow and Minsk that followed the businessman’s arrest in Minsk in August and subsequent fraud charges.
His arrest in Minsk came after Uralkali pulled out of a cartel agreement with Belarusian state-owned fertilizer giant Belaruskali, causing a sharp drop in potash prices that caused huge losses of income for the Belarusian company. Uralkali has denied any impropriety.
Earlier this week, Uralkali’s main shareholder, Suleiman Kerimov, agreed to sell his 21.75 percent stake in the company to Onexim Group for $3.5 billion, Onexim said.
