The prosecution chose to appeal the acquittal of Nord Troms and Senja of financier Andrej Jakkonen. This is what Jean-Frédéric Glint, chief prosecutor of Nordlys, said.
Jakkonen, the son of oligarch Vladimir Jakkonen, was acquitted in mid-February of violating Norwegian sanctions regulations during a holiday trip to Svalbard in the summer of 2022. The local court believes Jakkonen could not have known about the drone flight for which he was responsible. about her. During the trip it was a violation of Norwegian law. Therefore he cannot be punished either.
The prosecution disagrees. Now the case will also be tried in the Halogaland Court of Appeal.
Disappointed
Jakkonen's defender John Christian Elden told Nordlys that Andre Jakkonen is of course disappointed that the case will now be dealt with again in the Norwegian legal system.
After being acquitted by Norwegian courts three times, Jakkonen hoped that the prosecution would now come to its senses and refrain from burdening the judiciary further in this case, says Elden.
– When the prosecution has now chosen to appeal the ruling to the Court of Appeal, Yakunin is ready to defend himself again, and is confident that he will be acquitted again, he further says.
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He was acquitted again
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It's a far cry from the first round of court in the case against the 49-year-old Russian Briton. Andrej Jakkonen was first imprisoned at the end of October 2022. The Court of Appeal held that Jakkonen should be released, but the prison order was appealed up to the Supreme Court. They allowed the prosecution to keep the oligarch's son in prison.
Jakkonen was then acquitted by the Nord Troms & Sinja District Court. The Court of Appeal then rejected the appeal. But the Supreme Court overturned the acquittal. The case was therefore returned to the District Court in Tromsø for a new trial.
Two weeks ago, Jakkonen was acquitted for the second time by the Nord Troms & Sinja District Court. The case is now being appealed again before the Court of Appeal.
This is the situation
49-year-old Andre Jakkonen is accused of violating Norwegian sanctions regulations after a holiday trip to Svalbard in the summer of 2022. Jakkonen admits he maneuvered a drone that was used to document one of several expeditions during his stay on the island.
The question is whether the use of drones can be considered a criminal offence.
The prosecution, led by First State Prosecutor Jan-Friedrich Glint, believes that Jakkonen should be considered a Russian citizen, even though he has dual citizenship, and that he was aware of the sanctions imposed on Russian citizens, which also necessitated a ban on the use of aircraft.
Jakkonen's defenders have long called for complete acquittal. They have also notified a lawsuit against the Norwegian state as a result of the prosecution of the 49-year-old financier.
The case has already gone through several rounds in court. In December 2022, Jakkonen was acquitted by the Nord Troms & Sinja District Court. He was then released from pretrial detention. The Halogaland Court of Appeal initially rejected the prosecution's appeal. However, the Supreme Court upheld the appeal. Therefore, the case returned to the local court.
Jakkonen lives in Italy and England. He is the son of Russian oligarch Vladimir Yakunin, who is considered a close friend and ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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The trial was adjourned after five minutes
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