Israeli-Russian man accused in quadruple murder faces extradition to Moscow

State prosecutors have asked a Jerusalem court to approve the extradition of an Israeli-Russian citizen suspected of being behind a quadruple murder in Kazakhstan in 1998.

Michael Bolatov, 60, a resident of Rosh Ha’ayin, is suspected of ordering a hit on his business associate at the time, a Syrian man. The two, living in the eastern Kazakh city of Oskemen, had been smuggling cigarettes together and Bolatov owed the man a substantial sum of money — over $100,000. That allegedly led him to hire hitmen to get rid of him.

For the task he is accused of using an intermediary to hire two killers, to whom he paid $21,000 for the job. The two arrived at the associate’s apartment and gunned him down, along with three of his nephews who were with him at the time.

Though Bolatov was questioned following the murder, he denied involvement and was released, and the case was eventually closed without indictments being filed.

The Kazakh case was reopened in 2004 after one of the assassins was himself murdered. The assassin’s brother went to police and gave them information on the 1998 murder. He helped authorities arrest the second assassin as well as the intermediary who connected Bolatov to the killers.

Both are currently serving prison time for their involvement in the murders.

In the intervening years Bolatov had moved to Israel and later Russia and New York. In 2013 he was deported back to Israel. After his Kazakh citizenship was revoked, Russia took up the case, and in 2014 requested that Israel extradite him.

Bolatov was arrested by Israeli authorities last week, as they seek his extradition to stand trial in Russia.