ZURICH, April 28 (Reuters) – Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court has discontinued a money laundering trial against Gulnara Karimova, a daughter of Uzbekistan’s former president, on the grounds that she is not allowed to leave her country in time.
The court said no judgment could be reached before the statute of limitations expires on the alleged offences, Swiss public broadcaster SRF reported, citing the judge.
Karimova, who has previously denied any wrongdoing, is accused of taking bribes and running a criminal organisation known as “The Office” that allegedly channelled hundreds of millions of dollars to accounts in Switzerland between 2005 and 2013.
“Today’s dismissal ordered by the Swiss Federal Criminal Court in favour of our client, Gulnara Karimova, amounts to an acquittal under Swiss law,” her lawyer Gregoire Mangeat told Reuters.
“The court held that there exists a lasting impediment to the continuation of the proceedings,” he added, referring to the fact she could not attend the hearing and her conviction in Uzbekistan had been unfairly obtained.
Karimova is serving a prison sentence in Uzbekistan until December 2028, while the statute of limitations for the offences alleged by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland expires over the course of that year.
(Reporting by Ariane Luthi, editing by John Revill)
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