#2 - JRL 7306
Russian Gusinsky gets swift release on bail-lawyer
By Karolos Grohmann
ATHENS, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Former media mogul Vladimir Gusinsky, wanted in Russia on suspicion of a multi-million fraud, was freed on bail on Friday, but must remain in Greece pending a ruling on his extradition to Russia, his lawyer said.
In a sign of the political urgency and international pressure at work in the case, Gusinsky was ordered freed just one day after applying for his release. Less high-profile cases have to wait for weeks or even months for a decision.
"Mr Gusinsky was ordered to be released on a 100,000 ($108,200) euro bail," his Greek lawyer Alexandros Likourezos told Reuters. "He will stay in an Athens hotel and is not allowed to leave the country."
He will be released from prison later on Friday.
Gusinsky, one of a small elite of Russian businessmen who had made vast fortunes in the privatisation of the 1990, was arrested in the midst of a row between the Kremlin and another "oligarch," Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
The row has fuelled talk that President Vladimir Putin is reining in the super-rich elite ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections.
Gusinsky spent five days in Athens' maximum security Korydallos prison after he was arrested at Athens airport on an international warrant on suspicion of a $250 million fraud in Russia. It is not clear why Gusinsky was in Greece.
An appeals court will rule in coming weeks on whether he will be extradited to Russia.
Greece has not yet received a request from Moscow but Russian officials said they were preparing the documents.
"We shall send over all (extradition) papers in the timeframe outlined by the international agreement between Russia and Greece," Alexander Zhumaty, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office, said on Friday.
Likourezos said if the request is not received by the October 1 deadline, Gusinsky is free to go.
DIPLOMATIC HOT POPTATO
Both the United States and Israel have urged Greece not to extradite Gusinsky, who holds a Russian and Israeli passport. Asked if embassies had pressed Greece on the issue, government spokesman Christos Protopapas said: "It's clear there is great international interest but we must await the decision of the courts."
Gusinsky's arrest has become a diplomatic hot potato for Athens, under pressure from the United States and Israel not to hand him over.
"Mr Gusinsky is not a criminal but a passionate defender of independent media and democracy," U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos said in a letter to Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou. "I would respectfully request that Mr Gusinsky be released immediately and allowed to leave Greece."
Greek media reported Israel had also contacted the foreign ministry to demand his immediate release. The Israeli embassy confirmed it has offered Gusinsky its consular services.
Gusinsky lost his business in 2000 and fled Russia after falling foul of the Kremlin and authorities opened a criminal case against him. He owned Russia's biggest independent television station NTV before the state wrested control from him using the company's massive debt as leverage.
Gusinsky was then arrested in Spain. But a Spanish court in 2001 threw out all charges against him. Since leaving Spain he has lived in Israel.
($1-.9238 Euro)
(additional reporting from Moscow)
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