Tatiana Paraskevich arrested in Karlovy Vary
On 12 May, 2012, Paraskevich was detained in the Czech Republic, in the town of Karlovy Vary, where she arrived in order to undergo heart treatment. Tatiana Paraskevich was unaware of the fact that a criminal case had been instituted against her in Ukraine.
In 2009, the Russian Federation instituted a criminal case against Paraskevich. Two years later, in August, 2011, investigating authorities of Ukraine also instituted a criminal case against her, and, in 2012, announced an international criminal search for her. In April, 2012, the District Court in Kiev ruled to apply a measure of restraint towards Paraskevich in the form of pre-trial detention, which opened up legal possibilities for her extradition.
According to the Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office, Tatiana Paraskevich, Mukhtar Ablyazov and part of the members of BTA Bank's management established an organised criminal group, which concluded transactions that benefited companies controlled by Mukhtar Ablyazov under the guise of receiving loans. Thus, members of the organised criminal group were supposed to take control over BTA Bank’s resources in the amount of $167.18 million. The law enforcement agencies of Ukraine and the Russian Federation believe that Paraskevich was responsible for the storage and distribution of money, as well as participation in creation of master plans and exercising control over the transfer of money to companies registered in tax havens. According to the indictment, Tatiana Paraskevich, along with other members of the organised criminal group, legalised funds through purchases of real estate.
The criminal case against Tatiana Paraskevich was instituted on the basis of politically motivated charges. Ukraine and the Russian Federation have instituted the case according to an identical scheme, accusing Paraskevich of financial crimes. Paraskevich's defence notes that the investigative authorities of Ukraine do not have the original documents, on which the indictment is based. This undermines the credibility of the evidence of the Ukrainian side, due to the fact that it was disclosed by unidentified individuals in Kiev, and that the Kazakh Prosecutor's Office was responsible for its examination. In addition, lawyers have pointed out that the injured party in the case is neither Ukraine nor the Russian Federation, but Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank.
Lawyers fear that following Tatiana Paraskevich’s extradition to Ukraine, Kazakh special services may kidnap her and transfer her further on to Kazakhstan or Russia. In recent years, the Kazakh special services have repeatedly attempted to intimidate opposition politicians and civil activists in post-Soviet states. The most well-known cases are the assassination attempts against opposition activists Piotr Svoik, Alnur Musayev and Rakhat Aliyev, and an attempt to kidnap the oppositionist Aynur Kurmanov).
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14Gosiewska, Makowski and Święcicki on Tatiana Paraskevich’s case
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12Tatiana Paraskevich will remain in custody
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11International arrest warrant issued for Paraskevich
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22INTERPOL's reform and rights of victims of politically motivated extradition requests: steps forward and emergence of new threats
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03Stop the extradition of the oppositionist due to the threats of torture, an unfair trial and the illegal interference of Kazakhstan
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