KIEV, Aug. 26 - Ihor Bakay, a close confidant of former President Leonid Kuchma accused of embezzling 800 million hryvnias in state property, was granted Russian citizenship and cannot be extradited to Ukraine, prosecutors said.

Bakay, who managed real estate and property for Kuchma's administration, is accused of selling cheaply lucrative assets, including a historical palace in Crimea that had been apparently purchased for Russia's President Vladimir Putin.