JURIST - Paper Chase: Russia court rejects fraud case against former nuclear minister

[JURIST] A Russian court on Monday rejected the case against former Russian Atomic Minister Yevgeny Adamov [Kommersant profile; JURIST news archive], citing factual errors in court filings, and told prosecutors to develop the case further before presenting it to the court a second time. Adamov is charged with fraud and abuse of power for allegedly using US government funds [JURIST report] from the Department of Energy [official website] that were earmarked for Russian nuclear security for his own private commercial developments in the US and Russia. According to Zamoskvoretsky District Court chairwoman Margarita Panfyorova, prosecutors made factual mistakes in the indictment and committed procedural violations throughout the preliminary investigation.

Adamov was arrested [JURIST report] in Switzerland in 2005 on a US warrant alleging that he diverted $9 million to personal firms. He was extradited to Russia [JURIST report] in December after a series of legal battles [JURIST report] concerning where Adamov should be tried. The Russian Supreme Court released [JURIST report] Adamov in July to await trial. AP has more.

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