Yeltsin aide, held in N.Y., hospitalized

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Pavel Borodin, the Kremlin property manager under former Russian President Boris Yeltsin who was arrested in New York in January on money-laundering charges, has been hospitalized, CNN has learned.

Borodin, 55, was taken to Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn on Monday morning, Pat Ruiz, a hospital spokeswoman, said in a phone interview. She would not say why Borodin was admitted to the hospital but did say "he is now in stable condition."

Borodin was arrested in mid-January as he arrived at Kennedy International Airport by federal agents who were carrying out a Swiss arrest warrant, which charged Borodin with money laundering. Since then, Borodin has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

U.S. Magistrate Viktor Pohorlsky denied bail Friday on the grounds that there was a "risk of flight." An extradition hearing is set for April 2.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has demanded Borodin's immediate release from jail.

Under Yeltsin, Borodin headed the property department, which was responsible for all property owned by the Kremlin. He was suspected of taking $60 million in bribes from two Swiss companies that won lucrative contracts for elaborate renovation of Kremlin buildings. The contracts, according to the arrest warrant, allegedly totaled $10 million.

The Swiss warrant, issued on January 10, alleges that Borodin's kickbacks were concealed by using two fictitious companies, LightStar Low Voltage Systems Ltd. and Zofos Enterprises Ltd.

The warrant was the result of a two-year investigation of the so-called Mabatex scandal that embroiled the waning months of the Yeltsin administration. The charges were never proven, and Borodin has maintained his innocence. Russian prosecutors initially cooperated with Swiss authorities but in December dropped the case.

Russian President Vladimir Putin worked under Borodin in 1996 and 1997. When Putin replaced Yeltsin as president, he moved Borodin to a new job -- State Secretary of the Russian-Belorussian Union, which gave him diplomatic immunity. Borodin's lawyer says, however, that Borodin was traveling to New York on a regular passport.

The Swiss arrest complaint indicates that Swiss authorities knew when Borodin would be arriving in New York and which passport he would be using. It considers Borodin a fugitive who presents a risk of flight.

Borodin's lawyer says Borodin was traveling to the United States in order to attend the inauguration of then President-elect George W. Bush. However, the press secretary for Bush's Inaugural Committee said Borodin was not on any official inaugural guest list, although he could have been a guest of someone invited.

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