Uralkali CEO Vladislav Baumgertner was arrested in August and placed
under house arrest a month later as a row between his company and
its Belarusian trading partner escalated.
His lawyer, Alexei Basistov, said that Baumgertner was taken to the
Russian Embassy in Minsk prior to his extradition to Russia. Russian
prosecutors have opened a criminal probe against Baumgertner on
abuse of office charges.
Analysts have described Baumgertner's arrest as retaliation for
Uralkali's decision to pull out of a joint venture.
Uralkali and Belarusian Potash Co., a state-owned business, had been
exporting the commodity through a jointly run trading venture since
2005. Together they accounted for about a quarter of the world's
potash trade this year, giving them significant influence over
global prices.
Potash is a key ingredient in fertilizer.
Uralkali pulled out of the trading venture in July after accusing
the government in Minsk of allowing the state-owned company to
export potash independently. Uralkali's withdrawal left Belarusian
Potash Co. with virtually no qualified staff and raised fears of a
price war. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed that
Uralkali and Baumgertner's actions harmed his country's economy.
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Baumgertner is suspected of "abusing his powers," an accusation that
his business partners and some Russian officials found absurd
because the executive was not an official and therefore had no
powers to abuse. Uralkali has denied the charges, describing Minsk's
actions as blackmail.
Baumgertner's release comes days after a former Russian presidential
candidate, Mikhail Prokhorov, said he would buy 22 percent of
Uralkali from billionaire Suleyman Kerimov, who fell out with
Lukashenko.
Lukashenko earlier threatened to bring charges against Kerimov in
Belarus, and said that Baumgertner would be allowed to go only if he
paid the damages that he allegedly caused, estimated at $100
million. It was not clear Thursday if Baumgertner would have to pay
the damages.
[Associated
Press; NATALIYA VASILYEVA and YURAS KARMANAU]
Vasilyeva reported from
Moscow.
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