Vladislav Baumgertner, the CEO of Russian potash producer Uralkali, has been put under house arrest in Moscow. A Moscow court on December 10 ordered Baumgertner released from a pretrial detention center and placed under house arrest.Baumgertner was arrested in Minsk in late August, days after he withdrew his company from a joint venture with a Belarusian state company.Belarusian authorities charged him with abuse of office and embezzlement and placed him under house arrest in Minsk.A Moscow court later issued an order for Baumgertner's arrest on similar charges and demanded his extradition.Belarus agreed to extradite him to Russia after a change in Uralkali's ownership structure demanded by Minsk.The collapse of the Russian-Belarusian potash sales cartel severely affected Belarusian state revenues and caused a row between Minsk and Moscow.
