Banker Ilya Stashevsky, suspected of involvement in the embezzlement of over $230 million in state funds allocated for the manufacture of MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters for the Indian Air Force in 1997, was arrested in the Czech Republic in late March. He was later released due to a lack of evidence, and immediately granted political asylum.
"Stashevsky was granted political asylum in the Czech Republic, therefore the Ostrava court ruled against his extradition to Russia," the judge said.
The banker denies accusations saying he had quit his job prior to the disappearance of the funds. The Russian Prosecutor General's office failed to provide additional evidence against Stashevsky before the deadline set by the Czech authorities.
On February 26, Russia's former prime minister, Mikhail Kasyanov, who has recently expressed the desire to run for president in 2008, was questioned as a witness in the case.
