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Polish prosecutors receive Russian extradition request

Polish prosecutors receive a request from Russia asking to extradite the former first deputy prosecutor of the Moscow region

MOSCOW, February 1 (Itar-Tass) — Polish prosecutors received a request from Russia asking to extradite the former first deputy prosecutor of the Moscow region Alexander Ignatenko, a suspect in illegal gambling case.

Poland confirmed that it received the extradition request and other necessary documents, an official at the Russian Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) told Itar-Tass. The request was forwarded quickly within the timeframe stipulated by the law. The materials were emailed to Poland. The hard copies were also sent there.

The former first deputy prosecutor of the Moscow region Alexander Ignatenko, 52, is a suspect in the case of covering up illegal gambling business in the Moscow region.

Ignatenko was detained by Poland's domestic security agents as he was leaving Zakopane on January 1. He arrived there for a family reunion.

Under the Nowy Sacz district court's ruling of January 4, Ignatenko is in custody until February 9 or until a court’s ruling on his extradition to Russia.

Earlier, the PGO reported that it received the package of documents from the Investigation Committee only on January 17. They were translated into Polish and on January 30, a deputy prosecutor general in charge of international cooperation signed the extradition request.

The Investigation Committee decided to send a group of investigators to question the former prosecutor, without waiting for the completion of the extradition procedure. The defendant’s lawyer asked the the Investigation Committee to let him attend the interrogation

In early 2011, the Federal Security Service reported that an illegal gambling ring was exposed in the Moscow region, and named the first deputy regional prosecutor Alexander Ignatenko among the suspects. The FSB said it had encountered active resistance in the initial stages of probing on the part of supervisory bodies and police.

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