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French Court Denies Bail To Kazakh Tycoon Ablyazov


Mukhtar Ablyazov
Mukhtar Ablyazov

A court in France has denied bail to a fugitive Kazakh dissident tycoon.

An appeals court in Lyon ruled on October 6 that Mukhtar Ablyazov cannot be released on bail, saying there was no strong evidence that he would remain in France if freed.

Ablyazov was detained in the southern French city of Aix-en-Provence last year.

He fled Kazakhstan in 2009 after the authorities launched a probe and accused him of embezzling $6 billion while running Kazakhstan's BTA Bank.

Ablyazov, a critic of President Nursultan Nazarbaev, denies wrongdoing and says the case is politically motivated.

Kazakhstan has no extradition treaty with France but has such deals with Russia and Ukraine.

Hearings on Ablyazov’s possible extradition to Ukraine and Russia will be held later this month.

Based on reporting by lemonde.fr and TASS

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