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Uralkali CEO handed over to Russian authorities for extradition

Vladislav Baumgertner, director general of Russia`s potash company Uralkali, was handed over to Russian authorities on Thursday evening for extradition, BelaPAN said.

Belarus One, a state television channel, showed the Uralkali CEO being escorted by police after leaving an apartment in Minsk where he had been kept under house arrest. The footage also showed a minibus with Mr. Baumgertner in it entering the gate of Detention Center No.1 on Valadarskhaha Street in Minsk, apparently for a procedure necessary for extradition.

According to Mr. Baumgertner's Russian lawyer Aleksei Basistov, the Uralkali CEO was taken to the Russian embassy in Minsk prior to his extradition to Russia.

The 41-year-old Baumgertner was arrested on August 26 as he was about to fly out of Minsk after a meeting with Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich. He spent a month in the KGB detention center in Minsk before being placed under house arrest.

The Investigative Committee of Belarus said that Mr. Baumgertner, who chaired the supervisory board of Belarusian Potash Company (BPC), was suspected of abuse of office and so were four other Russian executives who combined their duties in BPC and Uralkali.

A few days later, Belarusian authorities instituted criminal proceedings against Russian billionaire and Uralkali`s top shareholder Suleiman Kerimov.

The case is linked to Uralkali`s July 30 decision to quit BPC, its joint trading arm with Belarusian potash giant Belaruskali. Belarusian investigators said in August that "criminal" actions by Mr. Baumgertner and other Uralkali executives had caused up to $100 million in damage to Belarus. The Investigative Committee warned later that the estimate of the damage might be revised upward.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka said in October that the charge against Mr. Baumgertner had been changed from abuse of office to embezzlement.

Mr. Lukashenka warned on October 21 that Mr. Baumgertner would be extradited to Russia only if Uralkali compensated Belarus for the damage caused by the executive’s actions.

"Until we get more damage, let them compensate for this amount," he said. "If they compensate us for the damage, we will make some moves to hand over Baumgertner, who is loved by you and the Russian people [to Russia]."

The Belarusian leader earlier made clear that Mr. Baugertner would be extradited on condition that he should be jailed and prosecuted in Russia.

"If Russian investigators are interested in the extradition of the detainee in question, I don't see any particular barriers here," Mr. Lukashenka said. "We're absolutely not holding on to him, if they deal with [the case] according to law. The damage on that side is immense, and it can be seen with the naked eye. Therefore, if this suddenly becomes necessary, we shouldn't get in the way. We should do everything for this conflict and whatever stands behind it to be probed together with Russians. And what stands behind it are certain high-ranking crooks in the Russian Federation and a multi-billion amount of money lost by Belarus and Russia."

In late October, a district judge in Moscow ordered Mr. Baumgertner’s arrest and the Investigative Committee of Russia formally charged him with abuse of office.