Ex-Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s son Maxim has been arrested in London, the Kyrgyz presidential press service said.
“Maxim Bakiyev, accused of grave crimes, was arrested in the morning of October 12 by British law enforcement agencies at the requests of Kyrgyzstan and the United States,” the press service said.
Maxim, who headed the central development, innovation and investment agency under his father’s administration, was put on an international wanted list on accusations of corruption and money laundering following the April 2010 state coup that ousted Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Maxim has been hiding in London since.
Kyrgyzstan’s presidential press service said that as Kyrgyzstan and Britain have no extradition agreement, London is considering extraditing Maxim Bakiyev to the United States, where he faces a long prison term if found guilty.
Kurmanbek Bakiyev and many of his relatives and supporters fled into exile after the mass uprising in April 2010. Some 90 people died as security forces opened fire on opposition supporters then, and about 1,000 were injured.
Kurmanbek, his brother Zhanysh and other relatives were accused of mass killings and put on an international wanted list by opposition forces brought to power by the revolt.
