Borodin says he will return to Switzerland if health improves

Borodin on his return to Russia from Switzerland. He says he is not afraid of going back to Geneva Keystone Archive

The former Kremlin aide who is wanted in Switzerland on money laundering charges, Pavel Borodin, has said that he plans to return to Geneva to face the indictment brought against him, only when his "state of health" permits him.

“If my health allows, naturally I’ll fly to Switzerland,” Borodin said on Russian state television. “I have nothing to fear, but I have nothing to say either.

I don’t know what questions they could ask and what to answer. But I will definitely go there,” he said.

This month, Borodin was released on a SFr5 million ($2.9 million) bail in Switzerland and returned to Russia, where he has been undergoing medical examinations.

In January, he was arrested in the United States and sent to Switzerland after a long extradition battle. While in a New York jail, Borodin complained of heart problems and was admitted to a city hospital.

Bernard Bertossa, Geneva’s chief prosecutor, said that he was “not optimistic” that the former Kremlin property chief and adviser to Boris Yeltsin would return.

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.

swissinfo with agencies