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French Court Rejects Ablyazov Bail Request


 Mukhtar Ablyazov (file photo)
Mukhtar Ablyazov (file photo)
Fugitive Kazakh oligarch Mukhtar Ablyazov, wanted in Kazakhstan for allegedly embezzling up to $6 billion from his former bank, has again been denied release on bail in France.

Ablyazov's lawyer told reporters a court in the southern city of Aix-en-Provence had made the decision on October 3. The same court rejected Ablyazov's first bail request in August.

Ablyazov, 50, is an outspoken critic of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev. He fled Kazakhstan in 2009.

Ablyazov says the case against him is politically motivated.

He was arrested in July on the French Riviera on a request from Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine have also brought fraud charges against Ablyazov and officially requested his extradition from France.

Kazakhstan has no extradition agreement with France, but it has bilateral agreements with Russia and Ukraine.

Based in reporting by AFP and Interfax

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