Ice Skating: Russian Mobster Faces Fixing Charges

A Russian mobster faces being extradited from Italy to the United States to face charges of fixing the result of figure skating events at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

A court in Venice yesterday ruled in favour of the extradition after a US grand jury last year charged 53-year-old Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov on five counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery related to sporting contests. He denies the charges and has 15 days to appeal against the extradition. He could face five years in prison if found guilty.

Tokhtakhounov, born in Uzbekistan and the holder of Russian and Israeli passports, was arrested last July in Italy in response to a complaint filed by New York prosecutors.

His arrest was linked to a controversy that prompted Olympic officials to take the unprecedented step of awarding a second set of gold medals to the Canadian runners-up in the pairs skating event won by Russia.

Prosecutors allege that Tokhtakhounov and accomplices had arranged that if a French judge voted for the Russians in the pairs event, the Russians would ensure the French ice dancers won the gold medal. The charges allege that Tokhtakhounov hoped the scheme would help him get a visa to live in France.

The Russian pair Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze edged out the Canadians Jamie Salé and David Pelletier for the Olympic gold medal by a 5-4 vote despite appearing to perform poorly compared with their rivals.

The French judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne and the French figure skating president Didier Gailhaguet were later suspended for three years.