Former Armenian ambassador to China is charged in Ohio with participating in scheme to bribe Kazakh official to secure gas pipeline contract for British company. (The company has a subsidiary based in Ohio, and U.S. banks were allegedly involved to launder money.) The ex-ambassador is in China and declines to travel to Ohio to answer the charges; instead, he seeks (via his lawyers) to have the charges dismissed. Sixth Circuit: Under what’s “known loosely as the fugitive disentitlement doctrine,” he needs to show up to court to secure either “the benefits or the burdens of the ruling.”
