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UK uncooperative in investigating international crime, notes General Prosecutor’s Office

Support from the UK in pursuing criminal justice has become practically non-existent in recent years, an official says

MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/. Support from the UK in pursuing criminal justice has become practically non-existent in recent years, Deputy General Prosecutor Saak Karapetyan said at a joint session of the Federation Council Committee for Constitutional Legislation and State Construction and the Federation Council Committee for Defense and Security.

"The state of international cooperation on matters of justice with the UK is problematic. The level of cooperation is almost unilateral," Karapetyan noted.

In 15 years, Russia sent 83 inquiries to the UK on extraditing defendants, including 72 inquiries for defendants or those already convicted of embezzling 500 bln rubles ($8.2 bln). "We were rejected from extraditing 60 individuals," Karapetyan noted. That said, 55 people were denied because London alleged the reason for the criminal prosecution was that it was ‘politically motivated’. "We have never received so many rejections, particularly as politically motivated, from a single country," the deputy general prosecutor stressed.

At present, the UK is reviewing 21 inquiries from Russia. "We send an average of 25-30 inquires each year, which are processed for a long time, (even) for years, only after multiple reminders from us," he admitted.

It was possible to build normal relations only with the Crown Prosecution Service, he said. "Thanks to that, we managed to achieve, to the surprise of our European colleagues, the extradition of two defendants in 2015 (one for violent crime - that is for offenses against the person - and the other for drug-related crimes,)" Karapetyan added.