Bakiyev, Maxim
Who, Why and How exiled: Youngest son of former president of Kyrgyzstan, Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Held the position of Head of the Agency for Investment and Economic Development. Rumoured to have been heading to the USA during the collapse of his father's administration in April 2010. ( Keating, 2010) Flew to the UK in a private jet and applied for asylum (Armitage, 2015).
Stage 1 details (accusations/ charges/ Interpol notice/ extradition requests): He was accused of organising an attempted murder of a British national, Sean Daley, who was hired to lobby the British mining company Oxus Gold PLC in 2006. Oxus has been fighting to have its licence to operate the Jeeroy mine restored. It was stripped of it in 2004 because it allegedly failed to meet contractual commitments (Marriner, 2006). Daley who has been leading the negotiations with the Kyrgyz government has been shot and wounded in the country's capital of Bishkek. Bakiyev was found guilty in absentia by a Kyrgyz court in 2014 for ordering the murder of Mr Daley in order to facilitate the corrupt awarding of the contract. (Armitage, 2015). In 2015, Sean Daley, filed a a civil claim against Mr Bakiyev for the “serious personal injury” he suffered during the attack (Armitage, 2015). Also accused of inciting ethnic violence in the south of Kyrgyzstan during the 2010 uprising Harding andTran, 2010). Kyrgyz prosecuters have repeatedly called for his extradition from London. The UK has refused to return him due to fears he would not receive a fair trial (Taylor, 2012). He also faces an extradition request from the US on charges of fraud and obstruction of justice. (BBC News, 2013)
Stage 2 details (arrest/ detention/ extradition): Arrested by UK Border Agency officials minutes after landing on 13 June 2010, but released pending an asylum request (Harding and Tran, 2010). In October 12, 2012, Bakiyev was arrested in London by UK extradition officers on the request of U.S. authorities, who want to question him for alleged involvement in fraud (BBC News, 2012) The provisional government charged him with embezzlement and abuse of power in April 2010. Sentenced in absentia in 2013 to 25 years in prison for corruption. (BBC News, 2013) In 2014, again in absentia, Bakiyev has been sentenced by the Kyrgyz Supreme Court to life imprisonment for embezzlement of state funds. (RFE, 2014)
Other actions during Stages 1–3 (dispossession/ overseas assets frozen/ intimidation/ action against associates/ …): During the 2010 protests, crowds targeted many of his assets in Kyrgyzstan, burning down his mansions and a popular restaurant he owned in downtown Bishkek (Taylor, 2012). In 2016, Justice Michael Supperstone dismissed the suit by Sean Daley, saying it lacked reliable witnesses or a coherent motive (The case Daley v. Bakiyev, case number [HQ14P04904] EWHC 1972 (QB) in the High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division, 2016)
Legal status (refugee/ asylum seeker/ resident): Sought asylum in the UK in 2010, allowed to stay while case is pending (Armitage, 2015). He has been granted political asylum in the UK (The case Daley v. Bakiyev, case number [HQ14P04904] EWHC 1972 (QB) in the High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division, 2016)
Current status: Living in the UK under political asylum status.
Press sources: Jim Armitage, "Despot's son with £3.5m home sued for 'ordering hit on Briton'," Evening Standard, March 26, 2015. [Online]. Available at: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/despots-son-with-35m-home-sued-for-ordering-hit-on-briton-10136191.html; BBC News, "Kyrgyzstan convicts ex-leader's son Maxim Bakiyev," March 27, 2013. [Online]. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21958401 BBC News, "Kyrgyz ex-leader Bakiyev's son held in UK for fraud", October, 13, 2012. [Online]. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19935269 Luke Harding and Mark Tran, "Kyrgyzstan demands extradition of former leader's son," The Guardian, June 15, 2010. [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jun/15/kyrgyzstan-demands-extradition-maxim-bakiyev Joshua Keating, "Where in the world is Maxim Bakiyev?," Foreign Policy, April 19, 2010 [Online]. Available at: http://foreignpolicy.com/2010/04/19/where-in-the-world-is-maksim-bakiyev/ Marriner Cosima, " Oxus envoy shot after court win in battle over gold mine licence", The Telegraph, July, 8, 2016.[Online]. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2942888/Oxus-envoy-shot-after-court-win-in-battle-over-gold-mine-licence.html Jerome Taylor, "Kyrgyzstan's 'prince' Maxim Bakiyev in the dock as US extradition battle begins," The Independent, December 7, 2012.[Online]. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/kyrgyzstans-prince-maxim-bakiyev-in-the-dock-as-us-extradition-battle-begins-8393510.html.
Legal sources: The case Daley v. Bakiyev, case number [HQ14P04904] EWHC 1972 (QB) in the High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division, 2016. [Online]. Available at: https://high-court-justice.vlex.co.uk/vid/hq14p04904-646176461