The Russian authorities have failed in their attempt to persuade a French court to extradite Vitaly Arkhangelsky, head of Russian ports and shipping concern, Oslo Marine Group (OMG).
Arkhangelsky, 36, fled to France with his family two years ago, claiming that he had been subjected to harassment and threats in Russia. He is accused of having failed to repay a US$100 million loan made to OMG by Bank Saint Petersburg but has counter-claimed that the action against him is part of a plot by the bank and its backers to dispossess OMG of its principal assets.
Russia's request for his extradition was turned down by an appeal court in the southern French city of Aix-en-Provence. Explaining its decision, the court cited concerns about the equity of the legal proceedings started against Arkhangelsky in Russia and doubts about the ability of the Russian authorities to guarantee respect for his defence and other legal rights in the event that he returned there. It added that there was no certainty either that he would not be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment.
Arkhangelsky's French lawyers were jubilant after the ruling, claiming that it proved that he had not fled Russia for personal financial gain and had pointed up concerns about the use of the Russian judicial system for political purposes. Arkhangelsky himself said after the ruling, "I am happy. French justice has not disappointed me."
He added that the court's decision would incite other Russian entrepreneurs to take refuge in France rather than in Britain and the US.
The US$100 million loan made by Bank Saint Petersburg to OMG had been intended for the purchase of ships. According to François Ameli, one of the lawyers defending Arkhangelsky, the bank has already seized OMG assets worth a total US$400 million. He said that efforts were now being made to recover the missing $300 million, as well as other OMG assets, which he said had been dispersed, notably to Cyprus and the Virgin Islands, to make them more difficult to track.
Ameli estimated that OMG had been worth US$1 billion before its difficulties began in 2008 but that the assets under its control now represented about US$200 million.
Set up in the late 1990s, OMG had port interests in Saint Petersburg and in Vyborg, close to the Finnish border in north-west Russia. It also owned an insurance company and the Vyborg Shipping Company. According to Ameli, Arkhangelsky is continuing to manage the group from his base in the French city of Nice but the only assets still under its control are its interests in the port of Vyborg.
Andrew Spurrier