MOSCOW, June 27 (RIA Novosti) - A Moscow court will start a trial in absentia of fugitive Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky, accused of embezzling Aeroflot airline funds, on July 2, the Moscow City Court said Wednesday.
Berezovsky is accused of embezzling over 214 million rubles ($8.3 million) of the flagship carrier's funds and laundering over 16 million rubles ($620,000). The charges envision a prison term of up to 10 years.
"As the accused is on the wanted list, the case against him will be considered in absentia. Legislation envisions such a procedure," spokesperson Anna Usachyova said, adding those would be preliminary hearings.
In the late 1990s, the tycoon was charged with setting up two front companies in Switzerland to divert millions of dollars from the carrier. The Aeroflot case was suspended after he fled to the United Kingdom and was granted political asylum there in 2003.
The Prosecutor General's Office took up the case in April after Berezovsky told The Guardian newspaper that he had bankrolled Kremlin insiders conspiring to overthrow President Vladimir Putin.
Russia's repeated demands to the U.K. for the extradition of Berezovsky, also wanted in the country for other economic crimes, have so far been refused.
Berezovsky's lawyer said Wednesday the businessman had forbidden his defense team to participate in the Moscow hearings.
"Berezovsky said he did not want to be part of that farce, which means neither he, nor his lawyers will attend the trial," Andrei Borovkov said, adding that the state could appoint lawyers to act for Berezovsky at the hearings.
His lawyer earlier said they had requested Russian prosecutors to drop the case for "lack of evidence substantiating Berezovsky's guilt."
