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| | U.S. jury convicts ex-Ukraine prime minister |
| | 4 Jun 2004 |
raiting (-4/6) |
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 A U.S. jury convicted a former Ukrainian prime minister on Thursday on criminal charges of using his political position to extort money and then launder it through California banks. In a rare case of a foreign leader being tried on U.S. soil, Pavlo Lazarenko, 51, Ukraine's prime minister from 1996 to 1997, was found guilty on all 29 counts against him, including conspiracy to launder money, money laundering and fraud as well as transportation of stolen property.
He had previously been convicted in absentia by a Swiss court of money laundering and has been charged with murder in his home country. Lazarenko declined comment as he left the courtroom but his attorney said his client would appeal the verdict.
"The verdict is legally and factually wrong," said defense attorney Doron Weinberg. "There are serious legal questions that remain to be resolved." During the trial, which started in March, jurors listened to witnesses videotaped in Ukraine and live in person at a San Francisco federal courthouse. Much of the evidence shed light on the world of post-Soviet era business and politics.
Prosecutor Martha Boersch, in her closing argument, recapped testimony suggesting Lazarenko engaged in corrupt deals such as spending state funds on wheat never received or cattle sold at phony prices that allowed the politician to pocket some of the proceeds. The key government witness, Ukrainian businessman Peter Kiritchenko, testified that he gave Lazarenko many millions of dollars and ownership of half of a company to help expand his firm.
Defense attorney Weinberg acknowledged Lazarenko had reaped riches as a politician, but said during the trial it was acceptable in 1990s Ukraine, a time he compared it to the wild capitalist days of 19th century America. Weinberg also sought to discredit the testimony and called Kiritchenko a Judas who lied when he spoke of being a victim. He said Kiritchenko invented stories because he was cooperating with prosecutors to lessen his own sentence. |
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