Interfax Europe
Andrei Borodin, former president of Bank of Moscow, officially declined on Wednesday to comment on allegations in the media that the British government has refused to grant him asylum.

“Following recommendations from his lawyers, Andrei Borodin will not comment on recent rumors to the effect that he has been denied political asylum,” said a one-sentence statement on Borodin’s official website, www.andrey-borodin.com.

Borodin and former Bank of Moscow deputy chief executive Dmitry Akulinin left Russia as soon as they came under prosecution for alleged malpractices during their work at the bank. They have repeatedly claimed that the criminal action against them is a politically motivated frame-up.

In October of last year, one of Borodin’s lawyers, Vladimir Krasnov, said the banker was considering seeking asylum for his family and himself in Britain. The British Embassy in Moscow declined at that time to comment on Krasnov’s words.