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UAE extradites suspected leader of Uralmash gang to Russia

Kukovyakin is accused of committing several crimes as part of a group by previous concert, including large-scale fraud, money laundering and forgery of documents

© EPA/SABRI ELMHEDWI

MOSCOW, June 14. /TASS/. The United Arab Emirates has extradited to Russia Alexander Kukovyakin, one of the leaders and founders of the Uralmash gang, a spokesperson for the Prosecutor General’s Office has said.

"Today [Sunday] the relevant authorities of the United Arab Emirates extradite Russian national Alexander Kukovyakin to Russia upon the request of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office," Marina Gridneva said.

Kukovyakin is accused of committing several crimes as part of a group by previous concert, including large-scale fraud, money laundering and forgery of documents.

The Uralmash gang was founded in Russia’s Urals region in the late 1980s by a group of former athletes. In 1999, the group was registered as a public and political union known as Uralmash. In December 2004, the gang split into small groups following searches at offices of affiliated bodies and arrests.

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