All news

Russian programmer wanted by US flees from Yerevan to Moscow

On August 29, a court in Yerevan turned down the prosecution motion for the arrest of Russian citizen Sergei Mrionov

YEREVAN, August 31. /TASS/. Sergei Mironov, the Russian computer programmer who had been placed on an international wanted list by the US authorities, on Wednesday fled from the Armenian capital Yerevan to Moscow.

"My client had a return ticket to Moscow for August 31," Mironov’s attorney Karen Nersisyan noted. "Based on the court ruling, the motion for his arrest was turned down and we found no grounds to prohibit my client from leaving Armenia in the court decision." "We are not bound by any obligations in this respect," the lawyer explained.

On August 29, a court in Yerevan turned down the prosecution’s motion to arrest Sergei Mrionov, a Russian citizen. He was released from custody in the courtroom. Mironov who arrived in Yerevan with his wife for a vacation, was detained in the Armenian capital at the request of US authorities, the Armenian police stated.

"On August 26, at 16:20 pm (15:20 pm, Moscow time), officers from the Combating Organized Crime Department of the Armenian police and transit police from Yerevan’s Zvarnots International Airport arrested Sergei Mironov, 30, a Russian citizen at the airport," the police report said. He has been "internationally wanted by the US law enforcement agencies since March 2016 for crimes punishable under several articles of the Criminal Code of that country," the police stated. The charges include, prior consent to violate the law on weapons’ export, attempted violation of the law on weapons control, prior intent to commit money laundering and money laundering.

Karen Nersisyan previously told the Rossiya 24 TV channel that since the search for Sergei Mironov had been conducted by the Americans with violations, Mironov should be extradited to Russia, and not to the United States. "The Americans and Interpol violated my client’s elementary search rights on Russia’s territory with the help of the Russian Interpol - this order was infringed upon," he said. "I think that because of these violations, Armenia’s law enforcement bodies and justice system must hand the Russian citizen over to Russia, and urge the Americans to follow the procedure and contact Russia’s judiciary bodies and, naturally, Interpol.".