Vidmantas Kucinskas, family hopes he won't be handed over to Russia
The relatives of the businessman, who is suspected of fraud,
say there's a goal in Russia to destroy the businessman and take over his
business. "Kucinskas cannot expect a fair and independent trial in the
Russian Federation.
Therefore, we expect EU member states' cooperation and
integrity in resolving the issue of Kucinskas' handover to Russia," a
statement from the businessman's family, sent to BNS by his wife Kristina
Kucinskiene, reads. In her words, Kucinskas was detained on July 15 on the
Slovenian-Croatian border when he travelled with his family on vacation.
"We would like to pay attention to the fact that Kucinskas
was detained in an EU member state (Slovenia) under the Russian Federation's
arrest warrant.
The treaty on legal assistance between the Republic of
Lithuania and Russia bans the extradition of Lithuanian citizens for
prosecution in Russia.
But Russia's request in another EU member state is being
processed pursuant to other international legislation the implementation of
which might run counter to EU agreements," the family statement reads.
It also states that the allegations on the basis of which
Kucinskas was detained "are unfounded and the very criminal case has been
artificially concocted to destroy the Lithuanian businessman who fell out of
favor with the Russian Alfa Bank". "Alfa Bank is linked with Putin's
circles and openly declares its ties with the Russian special services,"
the businessman's relatives say.
"We would like to underline the fact that all
disagreements and disputes between the creditor, Alfa Bank, and enterprises
linked to Kucinskas are being resolved under a civil procedure, therefore, the
move from a civilized dispute resolution to the demonstration of force shows
the clear aspiration to destroy Kunciskas and take over his business," the
statement reads. It was reported earlier that Russia's Alfa Bank is trying
through courts to recover a debt of around 20 million euros from Kucinskas.
The bank's lawyer said earlier the businessman is suspected
to have intentionally provided wrong information to the bank about the
financial situation of Arvi NPK, a fertilizer producer that used to operate in
the Russian region of Kaliningrad.
Kucinskas then said Russia's accusations were part of Alfa
Bank's intimidation tactics. Representing Alfa Bank, lawyer Laurynas Lukosiunas
said on Friday that Kucinskas' detention would help to swiftly investigate the
allegations against him and prevent new offences.
"The creditor, Alfa Bank, is using legal measures,
seeking proper evaluation of Kucinskas' actions and settlement," the
lawyer said, noting that Alfa Bank and Kucinskas have been litigating in
international and Lithuanian courts since 2015. Kucinskas is Russia's honorary
consul in Lithuania, according to information on the Foreign Ministry's website
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