Mikhail Khodorkovsky: Mukhtar Ablyazov

Mukhtar Ablyazov: An opposition leader from a country that has been ruled by the same man since 1989, a former banker accused of siphoning off billions, Mukhtar Ablyazov has been jailed since police special forces seized him July 31 in the south of France. On Thursday, a judge is expected to rule on his extradition, according to Times Colonist. "This is not a story about a bank. This is not a story about a theft. This is a settling of political scores," said Peter Sahlas, a lawyer representing Ablyazov and PARIS - He is wanted in his native Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Russia. He was ordered jailed in Britain. Courts in London have frozen his assets and issued more than $4 billion in judgments against Ablyazov, who fled Britain days just before he was convicted of contempt of court. The Kazakh is often compared with Mikhail Khodorkovsky for making his fortune during the wild post-Soviet years, then running afoul of the political leadership when he started using his wealth to bankroll the opposition. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.