Bakiev's Son Being Held In Britain, Kyrgyz Officials Say

Maksim Bakiev, the son of former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev

The son of toppled Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev has been arrested in Britain on an Interpol warrant.

The chief of Kyrgyzstan's national security council, Keneshbek Duyichebaev, told local television that Maksim Bakiev was detained in a "secret operation" on his arrival at Farnborough airport in southern England.

Duyichebaev said Maksim Bakiev, 33, wanted to seek asylum in Britain and had flown there in a private aircraft.

Azimbek Beknazarov, an official from Kyrgyzstan's interim government, said Bakiev would be "either extradited or judged" in Britain.

In London, a spokesman for the Home Office declined to comment "for data protection reasons."

Maksim Bakiev is being investigated by the interim Kyrgyz government for possible corrupt business practices related to fuel supply contracts he handled for a U.S. air base there, a key site for military operations in Afghanistan.

RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, with agency reports