On 30 November 2016 Senior District Judge Artbuthnot discharged the extradition case of the Government of the Russian Federation v Roman Solodchenko on the basis that there was no offence disclosed in the request.
The Judge said “This case has a lengthy history and the Russian Federation have a had a great deal of time to provide further particulars. For that reason I will not give anymore time to the Russian Federation.”
This was the second extradition request for Mr Solodchenko, the first request from Ukraine was discharged in March 2016 on the basis that he would not receive a fair trial under article 6 ECHR. It is the 5th extradition request that has been discharged in relation to the BTA Bank (Kazakhstan) litigation. In those cases the former opposition leader in Kazakhstan, Mukhtar Ablyazov is accused of a $6 billion fraud. The case has featured sinister involvement of the Kazak government who have manipulated the extradition process in both Russia and Ukraine.
Barrister Ben Keith led by Mark Summers QC and instructed by Rebecca Niblock represented Mr Solodchenko. Mr Keith has represented in all 5 previous BTA Bank (Kazakhstan) extradtions requests.
