Former Russian media magnate Vladimir Gusinsky, who lost his business after falling afoul of the Kremlin, was arrested at Athens International Airport on an international warrant, Greek police said Saturday.
Gusinsky, 51, arrived on a flight from Tel Aviv last Thursday, carrying Russian and Israeli passports. Police told Reuters he was being held at the airport until Monday when he would appear before a Greek prosecutor.
Police said there was an Interpol warrant from Russia on Gusinsky on suspicion of a $250 million fraud.
Gusinsky owned Russia’s biggest independent television station, NTV, which won acclaim for its coverage of Moscow’s war in separatist Chechnya, before the state wrested control from him using the company’s massive debt as leverage.
Gusinsky fled Russia after prosecutors opened a fraud case against him. He was first arrested in Spain in 2000 but a Spanish court threw out all charges against him that Russia had submitted to back up an extradition request.
