By KYIV. Jan 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The French court on Thursday postponed to January 19 a hearing on the issue of extradition to Ukraine of a businessman, ex-MP Kostiantyn Zhevaho, who, after being detained in Courchevel, on December 29 was arrested at the request of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), Reuters reports.
It points out that on the same day, a court in Chambéry, in eastern France, is to decide whether the businessman, one of Ukraine’s richest men, remains behind bars or can be released.
Zhevaho told the court that the case against him was political, and his lawyers and prosecutor told the court they needed more time to prepare for the extradition hearing itself, the agency reports.
According to his material, the businessman offered the court a bail of EUR1 million to be released, along with other guarantees, while the lawyers insisted that Zhevaho needed to be free in order to continue to manage his business.
As reported, the SBI accuses Zhevaho and a number of top managers of Finance and Credit Bank of organizing a mechanism for embezzlement of $113 million, which caused damage to the interests of the state and the bank’s depositors.
