Support The Moscow Times!

15 Years for American – In Absentia

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — A Bishkek district court has sentenced a U.S. businessman to 15 years in jail in absentia for selling a fuel depot in Kyrgyzstan to a U.S. company at $3 million below the market rate.

The ruling was passed March 3, but not made public. The Associated Press obtained a copy Wednesday.

The depot is at an airport used for U.S. military operations in nearby Afghanistan. Before the overthrow of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev last year, Eugene Gourevich ran a consulting company advising the government on economy. He fled Kyrgyzstan after Bakiyev's overthrow.

Kyrgyz authorities believe that the Bakiyev family benefited from opaque fuel supply deals with the air base.

Read more