UPDATE / 0245 Saturday, Bishkek time: A Kyrgyz government source says the reports of Maxim Bakiyev's arrest are true, and denies that Maxim was released. (An earlier version of this post was headlined "Kyrgyzstan: Bakiyev Jr Reportedly Caught and Released in London.")
Late Friday night the website of Kyrgyzstan’s president announced that Maxim Bakiyev, son of the former president, had been arrested in London that morning. Maxim, wanted at home for fraud and embezzling tens of millions of dollars in state funds, has apparently been living in the United Kingdom since his father, Kurmanbek, was chased out of Bishkek on April 7, 2010.
But Vechernii Bishkek, a popular local newspaper, has cast doubt on the claims. The paper says it spoke with someone who had contacted Maxim; the source reportedly said that the former first son had in fact been detained but was released quickly with an apology “for the misunderstanding.”
A member of the president’s press office did not immediately return requests for more information. Maxim, the demonized scion of the Bakiyev clan, who turns 35 this month, was also detained on June 13, 2010, when he arrived in the UK on a private jet. Six days later he was reportedly granted temporary asylum. Little has been heard from him since.
Maxim controlled many of the purse strings during his father’s venal regime as head of the Central Agency for Development, Investment and Innovation.
Bishkek has long demanded that he be sent home to face trial. But in its announcement of his detention, the president’s office said this demand could not be met because Bishkek does not have an extradition treaty with London. Without giving details, the president’s statement suggested Maxim could be taken to the United States. In any case, extradition is unlikely because most Western governments believe – not without reason – that Kyrgyzstan’s judicial system would not be able to ensure due process.
David Trilling is Eurasianet’s managing editor.
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