The Voice of Mirza Xazar

New York- Czech-born financier Viktor Kozeny, whom a U.S. court charged with corruption during the Azeri oil industry privatisation, believes that the U.S. administration controlled the whole Azeri operation, he told CTK today after charges against former AIG top official were withdrawn.
David Pinkerton, former managing director of the AIG insurance company's investment fund, U.S. investor Frederic Bourke Jr. and Kozeny faced corruption and money-laundering charges. The three men allegedly wanted to gain control over the Azeri state oil company SOCAR in the late 1990s.

Kozeny told CTK that the charges were clearly withdrawn because further prosecution was not in the interest of U.S. national security and because somebody intervened.

He said this was the only explanation since there were many pieces of conclusive written evidence against Pinkerton.

Kozeny pointed to the fact that the prosecutors did not state any reason for the withdrawal of charges and that no hearing was held to discuss the request.

The U.S. judge in fact had no other possibility but to comply with the application, Kozeny said.

In case of national security interests, a U.S. government institution usually sends a letter of suggestion to the court. Such letter is mostly classified, he said.

Most of the charges against Pinkerton and Bourke were dismissed last year as they were statute barred.

When the charges were brought against all three men in late 2005, Kozeny was arrested in the Bahamian, where he has been living for a long time, on the basis of a U.S. application for his extradition. He remained in custody until spring 2007 when a Bahamas court released him on bail.

Kozeny's extradition is also sought by the Czech Republic where he is prosecuted over involvement in the suspected embezzlement of property worth up to 16 billion crowns. Kozeny was one of the key figures of Czechoslovak coupon privatisation in the early 1990s.

Court proceedings against Kozeny recently started in Prague. He has been tried in absentia.

According to available information, the Bahamian authorities have yet dealt with the Czech extradition application.

URL: http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/tisk_clanku_view.php?id=321389&BACK=/news/index_view.php?id=321389