MOSCOW, April 24 (RIA Novosti) - The Moscow City Court has postponed a ruling on possibly releasing from custody of a former Russian nuclear power minister accused of embezzlement and abuse of power until May 15.
The court hearing of an appeal by Yevgeny Adamov's lawyers against extending the custody of their client was postponed because the sides had been incorrectly informed about the date of hearings.
The Basmanny court April 5 ruled that Adamov be remanded in custody until June 8 following a request from prosecutors, who said a preliminary investigation had not been completed. The court said Adamov should remain in prison because he stood accused of being a member of a criminal gang and was facing more than two years in prison.
Adamov said the ruling to extend his custody was typical of the Basmanny Court, which has been accused of ruling in favor of prosecutors and had earlier remanded him in custody.
The Prosecutor General's Office officially charged Adamov, 67, with embezzlement and abuse of office December 31, 2005, in the presence of his lawyers, after a long battle to secure his extradition from Switzerland, where he had been arrested at the request of the United States in May.
The U.S. accused Adamov, who served as nuclear power minister in 1998-2001, of misappropriating $9 million given to Russia for nuclear safety projects. He would have faced 60 years in prison if convicted in the U.S.
On October 3, the Swiss Federal Justice Department announced it would extradite the former Russian minister to the U.S., but Adamov's defense team filed an appeal with the Federal Tribunal, Switzerland's Supreme Court, in Lausanne in November. On December 22, the Lausanne court upheld the appeal and ruled that Adamov be extradited to Russia because the country submitted its extradition request first.
