- Title: SWITZERLAND: RUSSIAN MAFIA SUSPECT SERGEI MIKHAILOV GOES ON TRIAL
- Date: 30th November 1998
- Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (NOVEMBER 30, 1998) (REUTERS) SLV EXTERIORS OF PALAIS DE JUSTICE / MV PEOPLE INSIDE / SCU MEDIA (3 SHOTS) SCU (SOUNDBITE) (French) DEFENCE LAWYER PASCAL MAURER "I cannot give any comments until the court president takes her decision (whether to postpone the trial). We have asked for the trial to be postponed because the judicial authorities were influenced by the media - we believe our client will not have a just trial and the press coverage means he will not be 'presumed innocent' which is needed for a fair trial." LAS MEDIA ON THE STETPS OF THE PALAIS DE JUSTICE
- Embargoed: 15th December 1998 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: GENEVA AND CHAMP DOLLON, SWITZERLAND
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: General,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVACZE7GDA673JZGVPHR3WIIAWQO
- Story Text: Russian mafia suspect Sergei Mikhailov has gone on trial amid tight security in Geneva, in a case Swiss prosecutors say is the tip of the iceberg of Russian organised crime in Switzerland.
Mikhailov arrived at the courthouse on Monday (November 30) in an armoured Mercedes, wearing a bulletproof vest for the trip from the top-security Champ Dollon jail.
Mikhailov, 40, is accused of organised crime as well as having no right to be in Switzerland and buying property illegally -- charges he denies.If convicted, he faces up to seven-and-a-half years in jail.
He is suspected of heading Moscow's Solntsevo criminal gang, which was linked to the network of Russian mobster Vyacheslav Ivankov, sentenced to 115 months in jail in New York last year.
Swiss federal authorities say the trial of Mikhailov, arrested in October 1996 at the airport of the tranquil and secretive haven for offshore wealth, was a test case in her fight against Russian organised crime.
According to the prosecution, Russian criminal money in Swiss banks tops $40 billion and that the tentacles of Russian mafia have reached parts of the economy where it is suspected of being behind purchases of property, restaurants and shops as part of a process of laundering tainted money in Switzerland -- traditionally the world's safest home for flight capital.
Swiss judicial officials allege Mikhailov has continued to run his criminal affairs from his prison cell.His Swiss lawyer was arrested in March after being caught leaving the prison with letters from Mikhailov that had escaped the censor.
About 80 witnesses, some flying in from abroad, are expected to testify in the trial, expected to last two weeks.
Mikhailov's lawyer Pascal Maurer said the defence asked the court to postpone the trial before a jury at the Geneva Criminal Court in the heart of the old town, on grounds it could not be fair due to vast media coverage but the request was rejected.
The court has ordered a freeze of three million Swiss francs (2 million U.S.dollars) in the Swiss bank accounts of Mikhailov, who lived with his wife and two daughters in the nearby village of Borex.Police says he held Russian, Israeli and Costa Rican passports. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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