The Russian government is preparing a new legal and diplomatic offensive to secure the extradition of alleged fugitives from justice currently living in Britain, with the exiled tycoon Boris Berezovsky at the top of the Kremlin's wanted list.
Well-placed sources in Moscow have told The First Post President Vladimir Putin has personally warned Tony Blair that the continued presence on British soil of more than a dozen emigres who have evaded trial for a variety of serious offences is damaging relations between the two countries, already under strain as a result of the still unsolved murder of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko. One official even indicated that without a breakthrough on extradition, negotiations over energy supplies from Russia might be affected.
Last month, Russia's deputy
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Energy supplies from Russia might dry up unless we cut a deal on extraditions, warns philip jacobson |
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prosecutor general, Alexander Zvyagintsev, slipped into London for a meeting with the head of the Crown Prosecution Service, Ken MacDonald, which ended with the signing of a memorandum of understanding on extradition.
Although this is intended primarily to simplify existing legal complexities - in the absence of a formal extradition treaty, the final judgment will still lie with a British court - Zvyagintsev later made it clear to a Russian newspaper that he saw the agreement as opening the door to a renewed attempt to bring Berezovsky, who is now a British citizen, back to face charges of massive fraud and tax evasion.
He also singled out the London-based former Chechen separatist leader Ahmed Zakayev, who is the subject of an extradition request alleging that he has been involved in terrorist attacks, including the 
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