By
The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) - A high-ranking Russian official on his way to George W. Bush's inauguration was intercepted at John F. Kennedy airport by FBI agents who arrested him on a Swiss warrant alleging money laundering.
Pavel Borodin, who was arrested Wednesday, was to appear in federal court in Brooklyn on Thursday, according to FBI spokesman Joe Valiquette. His attorney, Ramond Levites, speaking outside the courthouse, said only that the Russian government ''considers this detention inappropriate.''
The detention of Borodin, who headed the Kremlin property administration under former President Boris Yeltsin, drew a protest from the Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday and a conspicuous silence from President Vladimir Putin.
Putin has pledged to crack down on corruption, and the arrest could be a major embarrassment or a convenient way of closing a Kremlin corruption scandal without his taking any direct action.
Borodin and other members of Yeltsin's inner circle have been accused of taking kickbacks from Mabetex and Mercata, two Swiss companies that had fat contracts to renovate Kremlin buildings.
Russian prosecutors late last year closed their investigation after more than two years, saying Swiss authorities failed to provide evidence.
But Switzerland kept the case open and issued an international warrant for Borodin, who is now secretary of the Russia-Belarus Union - a largely ceremonial position that guarantees him legal immunity in Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov called in U.S. Ambassador James Collins and made a formal protest, demanding Borodin's ''immediate and unconditional release.''
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who heads the Russia-Belarus Union, issued his own protest on state television, calling the arrest ''a flagrant violation of the universally recognized norms of international law.''
Lukashenko said he had sent Borodin to the inauguration after consulting with Putin and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov.
The Swiss issued a warrant for Borodin's arrest on Jan. 10 in Geneva, and the FBI was notified in advance of his arrival at JFK, according to court documents.
Borodin was taken into custody after arriving in New York from Moscow on a Delta flight. He had planned to attend Saturday's inauguration in Washington and a candlelight dinner organized by the inauguration committee.
He was held overnight at a federal detention center in Brooklyn. The ITAR-Tass news agency reported that Borodin met with the Russian consul in New York and called his arrest a political provocation.
Geneva prosecutor Bernard Bertossa said Switzerland would request Borodin's extradition.
Swiss prosecutors have alleged that their Russian counterparts were sluggish in pursuing corruption investigations against highly placed officials, while energetically prosecuting Kremlin opponents such as media magnate Vladimir Gusinsky.
