Almost two years after being put on the international wanted list, Budagov can be extradited to his homeland. The defense of the TV presenter’s ex-husband called the investigators’ suspicions unfounded, but in Istanbul they were clearly treated with attention.
Moscow entrepreneur Yuri Budagov, who has been living in Turkey in recent years, was denied citizenship by local authorities. Once he bought real estate in Istanbul, and this gives a reason for a foreigner to obtain a Turkish passport. Until May last year, the minimum amount of such investments was 250 thousand dollars, later it was increased to 400 thousand.
The reason for the refusal is the arrest in absentia of Budagov in Russia. In addition, according to RIA Novosti, the emigrant hid his criminal record from the local authorities, as well as his Armenian citizenship. It is likely that he will soon be extradited to Russian justice.
By “left” power of attorney
42-year-old Yuri Budagov is the first husband of Russian TV presenter Ksenia Borodina, with whom he was married in 2008-2011. Later, he married Zalisha Bashirova, the owner and director of the Fisrt UK School network of language schools. In recent years, the businessman has clearly tried not to shine in the media. According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Budagov was one of the founders of two legal entities: Duma Publishing House LLC and the Sports Poker Federation of the Moscow Region RPO (both have been liquidated by now).
Trouble began with the entrepreneur in the summer of 2021. At the same time, he apparently left the territory of the Russian Federation, moving first to the UK, then to Turkey.
Law enforcement agencies suspect Yuri Budagov of fraud in the banking sector in connection with the transfer of a large amount of money, allegedly under a fictitious power of attorney. We can talk about the theft of funds of Region Trans LLC. The criminal case against him was separated into a separate proceeding based on the results of another investigation.
The card file of the Ostankinsky District Court of Moscow indicates that the case was initiated under Part 4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the defendant was arrested in absentia and put on the international wanted list. Budagov’s defense unsuccessfully tried to prove that this was accompanied by violations of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The lawyer expressed the opinion that the investigation did not have convincing evidence that the accused was outside the Russian Federation. The defender also stated that the investigation did not present specific facts confirming the validity of their suspicions.
From gossip to crime
According to the telegram channel of the VChU-OGPU, investigators had questions to the ex-husband of Ksenia Borodina in the wake of the case of taking bribes by high-ranking security officials. It is likely that the ex-husband of the TV star was then left without a “roof”. But even before that, the name of Yuri Budagov was mentioned in the criminal chronicle.
In 2013, in the TV show “You won’t believe it!” showman Stepan Menshchikov called him a “charming swindler” because he allegedly heard that he owed someone a large sum of money. A couple of days later, the TV presenter was hospitalized with head injuries sustained as a result of an attack by three unknown persons.
Budagov then told reporters that he was not involved in this event, although he admitted that he demanded explanations from Menshchikov about his words. “If I wanted to beat him, I would have dealt with him myself,” the businessman said. The beaten TV presenter said he apologized for the statement, which he considered a joke. He did not take a statement from the police on the fact of the beating. However, how this case ended is still not clear.
As far as one can understand, now Yuri Budagov is still in Turkey. Local authorities have not yet chosen a preventive measure for him, as they are waiting for explanatory materials from Russia. With a high degree of probability, we can say that after receiving them, the process of extraditing Budagov to his homeland will begin.