07/26/2007

News / Russian diplomat prefers jail to house arrest in U.S.

NEW YORK, July 26 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian diplomat accused of a money laundering conspiracy in the U.S. said he would prefer prison to house arrest in New York as he can no longer pay rent.

Vladimir Kuznetsov, who worked as a Russian expert in the United Nations Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, was arrested in September 2005 after borrowing $300,000 from a Russian colleague, allegedly knowing that the funds had been acquired by criminal means.

"I will not ask my lawyers to request that I remain under house arrest if they submit an appeal. I have no money to pay the rent for my apartment or the utility bills - it's been nearly two years since my arrest," Kuznetsov said. "The only solution to this situation is to go to jail at the expense of the American taxpayer."

Kuznetsov was found guilty by a jury in March. A court will announce a sentence September 4, but the defense team plan to appeal as "the whole legal route in this affair has not yet been covered," the diplomat said, citing a number of ambiguities in his status. The defendant denies the charges.

Kuznetsov previously held diplomatic immunity as a UN employee but after the then Secretary General Kofi Annan revoked the status, the FBI were able to arrest him.

The diplomat remains in his family apartment, and his movements are monitored with an electronic tag attached to his leg. The associate who lent the funds, UN employee Vladimir Yakovlev, was not charged due to a deal with investigators in which he identified Kuznetsov.
Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070726/69701252.html

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