Former co-owner of Rosatom-controlled plant seeks asylum in France as British judge questions prospect of fair trial in Russia
Igor Pestrikov, a former co-owner of the Solikamsk Magnesium Plant who was sentenced in absentia to eight years in a Russian prison, has applied for political asylum in France, according to a ruling by the High Court of England and Wales. As The Insider found , British judge Julia Dias, who heard the case, questioned whether the businessman could receive a fair trial in Russia. Pestrikov brought…
Former co-owner Igor Pestrikov of the Solikamsk Magnesium Plant has sought political asylum in France after a British judge expressed doubts about the prospect of a fair trial in Russia. Pestrikov was sentenced in absentia to eight years in a Russian prison for alleged embezzlement and conspiracy to remove him from the plant's management.
The former chairman of the plant's board, Alexander Gutin, denies these allegations. Pestrikov claims that Gutin and others conspired to take control of the plant and transfer it to Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation. Despite Gutin's arguments that the legal proceedings were invalid due to Gutin's relocation to Cyprus, the British court ruled that Pestrikov could not receive a fair trial in Russia.
Pestrikov was ordered to pay 100,000 pounds in interim legal costs to Gutin, but the judge criticized the high amount for a seemingly straightforward case. The nationalization of the plant in 2022 affected multiple investors and is crucial to Europe's supply chain for rare-earth materials used in various industries.
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