A Moscow court Thursday tried business tycoon Boris Berezovsky in absentia and sentenced him to six years in jail for embezzlement.
The court ruling said Berezovsky was found guilty of stealing 215 million rubles (9 million U.S. dollars) from Russia's largest air carrier Aeroflot "through a fraudulent scheme," the RIA Novosti news agency reported.
The court also upheld the airline's suit ordering that the tycoon repay the sum.
It is the first trial of Berezovsky, who has been charged on 11 counts, including the embezzlement of 13 billion dollars of a leading Russian bank.
Russia has issued multiple arrest warrants for Berezovsky's arrest in his absence and requested Britain to extradite him on many occasions, which London has refused to do.
Berezovsky has been granted political asylum in the country and, reportedly, citizenship. But he denies that he possesses British citizenship.
"Following the guilty verdict against Berezovsky, we have stronger chances of having him extradited. We could request his extradition in the near future," said Alexander Kublyakov, state prosecutor in the case against the tycoon.
The businessman is also accused of plotting to stage a coup in Russia, as well as embezzling 13 million from the SBS-Agro bank. These two cases were opened respectively in the spring and summer of 2007.
Berezovsky, a one-time close associate of the late Boris Yeltsin, said in an interview with the Guardian newspaper on April11 that force should be used to overthrow the Russian authorities and he gave a positive answer to the question of whether he was inciting a revolution.
Source: Xinhua
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