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MOSCOW — A Russian businessman who made a daring escape from home arrest in Italy the place he was nabbed on a U.S. warrant for breaching Western sanctions surfaced in Russia on Tuesday, saying he fled as a result of Italian courts would have given in to American stress to extradite him.
Artyom Uss, the 40-year-old son of the governor of Russia’s huge Krasnoyarsk area in japanese Siberia, was arrested in Italy in October on a U.S. warrant. The U.S. has sought Uss’ extradition on prices of smuggling Western applied sciences in violation of Western sanctions and cash laundering. He was transferred from jail to deal with arrest at a compound on the outskirts of Milan in December.
Final month, Uss fled after an Italian court docket dominated to extradite him to the U.S. His location was unknown till Tuesday, when he advised the state RIA Novosti information company that he was again in Russia.
Uss argued he needed to flee as a result of the Italian court docket had “demonstrated its clear political bias” and was more likely to “collapse below the U.S. authorities’ stress” amid Russia-West tensions over preventing in Ukraine.
“In right this moment’s worldwide atmosphere once they play towards us ‘with out guidelines,’ my return dwelling, despite the fact that it occurred in a ‘non-standard’ manner, is a victory,” Uss advised RIA Novosti.
He didn’t provide any particulars of his escape, however thanked “robust and dependable individuals who have been subsequent to me throughout these dramatic days.”
The Italian media have claimed that Russian intelligence companies have been concerned in arranging Uss’ escape. After eradicating his digital bracelet, he was reportedly pushed in a foreign country on a pretend passport earlier than taking a non-public jet again to Russia.
Russian officers haven’t commented on the media stories.
The Moscow Metropolis Courtroom issued a ruling in December searching for Uss’ arrest in an obvious maneuver to set the stage for his extradition again dwelling. The Russian Inside Ministry on Tuesday revoked its warrant for Uss’ arrest after he responded to investigators’ questions associated to his case, Uss’ lawyer Alexei Tikhomirov advised the Interfax information company. He mentioned investigators requested him to not depart Moscow.