MOSCOW. Nov 29 (Interfax) - The exclusion of fraud charges from a criminal case against former First Deputy Moscow region Prosecutor Alexander Ignatenko, one of the prime suspects in the case dealing with a network of clandestine casinos in the Moscow region, is the precondition for his extradition from Poland to Russia, Ignatenko's lawyer Alexander Perepyolkin told Interfax.
"Poland agrees to extradite Ignatenko only on condition that the fraud charge be excluded from his indictment. And this condition is mandatory for Russian law enforcement agencies," Perepyolkin said.
He described this as an interim victory of Ignatenko's defense team.
"Now Russian lawyers are to prove Ignatenko's innocence of accepting a bribe, of which he has been accused," he said.
Ignatenko absolutely dismisses all charges against him, he said.
Perepyolkin also pointed out that almost all suspects of the criminal case dealing with clandestine casinos are at large now.
"At the present time, only two members of the Interior Ministry K department, Farid Temirgaliyev and Mikhail Kulikov, charged under this case are in detention, but Deputy Prosecutor General Viktor Grin has already filed a request with the Supreme Court that their arrest be found unlawful," Perepyolkin said, adding that the two "could soon be freed."
Ignatenko himself "is not related anyhow to Temirgaliyev or Kulikov," Perepyolkin said.
The Polish justice minister told journalists earlier that Ignatenko would be turned over to Russian prosecutors in the near future.
However, a source familiar with the situation told Interfax that Russia had so far not received any official documents from Poland regarding Ignatenko's extradition.
Nevertheless, he confirmed that the Polish Justice Ministry decided back on November 16 to extradite Ignatenko.
"According to our information, it took the Polish authorities a long time to decide what charges brought against the ex-prosecutor they were ready to accept. As a result, the Polish Justice Ministry excluded the fraud charge and left only the acceptance of a bribe," he said.
Ignatenko is currently held under arrest in Poland. A district court in the Polish town of Nowy Sacz extended his detention until February 2013 on October 5.
Ignatenko, 52, is considered the prime suspect in a case under which a number of high-ranking prosecution officials are suspected of providing protection to illegal gambling businesses organized by businessman Ivan Nazarov in the Moscow region. Ignatenko himself is suspected of accepting bribes amounting to over 48 million rubles from the illegal business organizers. He has also been charged with fraud involving plots of land worth 2 million rubles.
The ex-prosecutor has been on the international wanted list since November 2011. Before this, the Prosecutor General's Office had not declared him internationally wanted for five months, saying this was premature.