MOSCOW/BANGKOK, August 3. /TASS/. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office delegation has passed to the Thai authorities in Bangkok a request on the extradition of Russian citizen Dmitry Ukrainsky who was arrested in Thailand at the US request, the Prosecutor General’s Office spokesman Alexander Kurennoi, who is in Thailand with the delegation, said on Wednesday.
"At a bilateral meeting between the Russian Prosecutor General, Yuri Chaika, and his colleague from the Kingdom of Thailand, which is now held in Bangkok, the sides discussed the issue of extradition to Russia of its citizen who is accused of fraud. During the talks, the Russian side passed to the Thai authorities a request for the extradition of Russian citizen Dmitry Ukrainsky, accused (in Russia) of committing fraud (under Article 159, part 4 of the Russian Criminal Code)," Kurennoi said.
"According to the preliminary investigation results, Ukrainsky stole more than 7.5 million rubles ($112,057) in Moscow in the period from April to May 2013 through fraud and abuse of trust. He acted within an organized criminal group," the prosecutor’s office representative said.
On July 15, Ukrainsky was detained near his house Pattaya (Thailand) and on the same day put into a detention facility of the immigration police in Bangkok. The warrant for his arrest was issued by a Thai court in connection with accusations of money laundering in the United States. After the whereabouts of Ukrainsky were established, Russian Deputy Prosecutor General Viktor Grin signed on August 1 a request to the Office of the Attorney General of Thailand on his handover to the Russian side.
This document envisages both the extradition procedure and possible deportation. In addition, the Russian embassy has filed a protest note with the Thai Foreign Ministry in which states that the Russian citizen’s extradition to the United States was unacceptable and that the issue should be settled exclusively within the legal framework, because, according to the Thai police, he may be extradited to the United States by the corresponding decision of the local court.
On July 21, it became known that Russian citizen Dmitry Ukrainsky was detained in the resort city of Pattaya in Thailand at the FBI request. The United States accuses him of stealing money from credit cards of US nationals. Thai Tourist Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Surachet Hakphan said previously that the Russian man was arrested in Pattaya where he has been running several firms renting yachts to tourists. He is suspected of stealing $28.5 million sending malware to emails of the theft victims and the malware sent back usernames and passwords of online bank accounts in the United States, Australia, Japan, Britain, Italy and Germany. Ukrainsky has fully denied his guilt.
After the detention of the Russian citizen, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office and Foreign Ministry contacted the Thai competent authorities to protect his rights and freedoms and to prevent his unjustified extradition to the American side.
Previously, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow had filed a note of protest with the Thai foreign ministry, stating that the extradition of a Russian citizen to the United States was unacceptable. Diplomats were taking all reasonable steps to secure his release or transfer to the Russian authorities, she said.
The Russian delegation led by Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika is on a two-day working visit to Thailand.