French prosecutors said on Friday they have "no claims" against Russian fugitive tycoon Boris Berezovsky whose yachts were seized in France upon Russia's request.
"The seizure was to take place yesterday. This is an international judicial request, we personally have no special claims against Mr. Berezovsky," Deputy Prosecutor Jean-Louis Moreau in the southern French city of Grasse said.
The yachts, worth around $20 million, were seized at the request of Russian prosecutors as part of an ongoing criminal investigation against Berezovsky, a spokesperson for the Russian Prosecutor General's Office said on Thursday.
The French authorities earlier confirmed that the yachts docked off the resort town of Antibes, and other objects belonging to Berezovsky were seized at Moscow's request in the presence of Russian investigators.
Berezovsky, who has been in self-exile in London since 2000, has so far denied the report saying: "I have no yachts in France, I have only paintings, not important ones, but I have no information that anyone has seized them."
In an interview with Russia's Ekho Moskvy radio station, Berezovsky said he viewed the statement by the Russian Prosecutor General's Office in the context of Thursday's resolution by the European Parliament that criticized Russia's judiciary.
"[Russia's judiciary] does not respond to democratic standards and serves the interests of bandits in power," Berezovsky said, adding that the French authorities who cooperate with Moscow are either unfamiliar with the resolution or are also "corrupt."
Over a dozen criminal probes have been launched in Russia against Berezovsky, a one-time close associate of the late president Boris Yeltsin, including on charges of plotting to stage a coup and embezzling $13 million from a leading Russian bank.
Russia has issued multiple warrants for Berezovsky's arrest and has repeatedly demanded his extradition from Britain.
PARIS, February 18 (RIA Novosti)
