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Ex-chief of Russia’s border agency escorted to Russia from Italy

MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/. Former head of Russia’s federal agency for state border facilities development Rosgranitsa, Dmitry Bezdelov, who is facing fraud charges in Russia and was extradited from Italy on Tuesday, has been brought to Russia, Russian Interior Ministry Spokeswoman Irina Volk told TASS.

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Italy extradites to Russia former border development agency chief accused of embezzlement

"Today, Bezdelov, who is charged with fraud (part 4, article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code), was escorted to Moscow by officers of the National Interpol Bureau and the Federal Penitentiary Service," she said.

According to the spokeswoman, the man was put on the international wanted list on October 16, 2014 at a request from the Moscow department of the Russian interior ministry. He was detained in Italy of October 26, 2014.

"Italy’s authorities satisfied a motion from the Russian prosecutor general’s office on the extraditions of a Russian national. Italian officers handed over the detainee to the officers of the Russian National Interpol Bureau and Federal Penitentiary Service to be escorted to the homeland," she said.

Bezdelov, 45, is accused of setting up and leading a criminal group with the goal of committing grave crimes and large-scale fraud as part of a criminal group with abuse of powers. Investigators found that in summer 2009 Bezdelov, who led the Rosgranitsa agency, carried out fraudulent schemes jointly with a range of other individuals to embezzle state funds allocated for the construction of a railway checkpoint.

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