Aide pledges that Borodin will return to Switzerland
A former Kremlin adviser, Pavel Borodin, will "definitely return to Switzerland" to face charges of money laundering, according to his spokesman. Borodin went back to Russia last Friday after being freed on bail by a Geneva court.
Ivan Makouchok told the French news agency, AFP, that the 54-year-old would come back to Switzerland, if called before the Geneva court.
His comments come after the Swiss prosecutor handling the case voiced doubts about whether Borodin would honour the conditions of his SFr5 million ($2.9 million) bail.
Bernard Bertossa, Geneva’s chief prosecutor, said that he was “not optimistic” that the former adviser to Boris Yeltsin would return. Borodin left Switzerland six days after he was extradited from the United States and indicted on charges of money laundering and belonging to a criminal organisation.
On Thursday, the Geneva court hearing the case threw out the second charge and freed him on bail, which was paid by the Russian government. He was ordered to make himself available for any further judicial proceedings in the future.
Borodin stands accused of laundering $25 million in kickbacks, which he is said to have received from two Swiss companies in return for lucrative contracts to renovate the Kremlin.
Both Borodin and the firms involved – Mabetex and Mercata – deny any wrongdoing.
Russia dropped its own inquiry into Borodin last year, saying there was insufficient evidence to proceed.
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