Russian Indicted In Skategate
A U.S. grand jury indicted a reputed Russian mobster Wednesday for allegedly fixing 2002 Winter Olympic figure skating competitions in a move that paves the way for the U.S. government to seek his extradition from Italy.
The Manhattan U.S. attorney's office said it will file papers with Italy in September seeking custody of Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, who was arrested by Italian authorities in July on a complaint filed by New York prosecutors.
The five-count indictment expanded charges contained in the earlier complaint and allowed for a trial in the United States.
Tokhtakhounov was indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit bribery related to sporting contests, one count of wire fraud, one count of sports bribery and one count of violating a federal law that makes it a crime to travel across state lines or overseas to commit bribery.
Each offense carries a maximum prison term of five years and a maximum fine of $250,000.
Tokhtakhounov, a Russian citizen who was born in Uzbekistan, was living at a seaside residence on Italy's northwestern coast at the time of his arrest. U.S. prosecutors said they were alerted to the Olympic scheme by Italian authorities who had him under surveillance for other reasons.
The charges alleged Tokhtakhounov, who previously lived in France, carried out the scheme to generate goodwill with French authorities to get an extension of his French visa.
U.S. prosecutors described him as a major figure in international organized crime who has been involved in drug distribution, illegal firearms sales and trafficking in stolen vehicles. He was believed to have fixed various beauty pageants in Moscow in the early 1990s.
The charges were related to the Olympic scandal involving French skating judge Marie Reine Le Gougne, who said she was pressured by French figure skating President Didier Gailhaguet to vote for a Russian couple in the Olympic pairs.
Prosecutors allege that Tokhtakhounov and others agreed, as a "quid pro quo" in return for the French judge's vote, the Russians would ensure that the French ice dancing team would win the gold medal in that competition.
The International Skating Union voted April 30 to suspend Le Gougne and Gailhaguet for three years. They were also barred from participation in the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy.
Le Gougne was accused of deliberately under-marking Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier under pressure from Gailhaguet in favor of Russian rivals Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, who won the event in a 5-4 judging split.
The scandal shook the Olympics and, in an unprecedented move, gold medals were eventually also awarded to the Canadians.