Belarus has withdrawn its Interpol request for Kerimov
2 April 2014, 18:51
On the initiative of the Belarusian party the request has also been withdrawn for Uralkali’s former director Vladislav Baumgertner.
The information was announced by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Belarus Ihar Shunievich, Interfax reports.
“Our Interpol request on Kerimov has been withdrawn. Kerimov is under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation, and his prosecution is also in Russia’s jurisdiction”, - Shunievich told journalists in Minsk on Wednesday.
The head of the MIA added that on the initiative of the Belarusian party the Interpol request has also been withdrawn for Uralkali’s former director Vladislav Baumgertner. “Since the Russian party has taken measures for Baumgertner‘s criminal prosecution, our request has lost its urgency and has been withdraw on our initiative“, - the minister specified.
Uralkali’s director general and the head of the supervisory board of the ‘Belarusian Potash Company’ (BPC) Baumgertner was detained in late August 2013 in Minsk. Belarus’ Investigatory Committee brought charges against him for power abuse, the possible sanction is imprisonment for up to ten years.
A month before that Uralkali had stated it would stop exports sales by the intermediary of the BPC – their and Belaruskali’s joint trader.
After Baumgertner’s detention Uralkali’s shareholder Suleiman Kerimov became a defendant on the criminal case against BPC’s officials. Belarus’ investigative agencies reported in early September 2013 that resolution had been passed to arrest him and proclaim wanted, including along the Interpol lines.
Kerimov’s actions were also qualified by the investigation as organizing power abuse. On 3 September Belarus’ MIA announced that the decision to proclaim Kerimov internationally wanted had already been taken by Interpol. On 11 September Interpol confirmed that it had received the request from Belarusian authorities to include the member of the Federation Council Kerimov in the ‘Red List’ as well as four top-managers of the ‘Belarusian Potash Company’.
