TASS, March 25. The Italian court's decision to extradite businessman Artyom Uss, son of the governor of Russia’s Siberian Krasnoyarsk Region, Alexander Uss, was made in violation of the principle of double criminality, which is a gross disregard for international law, Artyom Uss’ lawyer Alexey Tikhomirov told TASS.
On March 21, a court in Milan ruled in favor of extraditing Russian businessman Artyom Uss, who was detained in Italy on an international warrant, to the United States. He was charged in the US with sanctions evasion and money laundering. On March 23, the ANSA news agency reported that Artyom Uss had left his place in Italy, where he was under house arrest.
The principle of double criminality implies that the crime for which the extradition of a suspect is requested must be mentioned as such in the law of both states.
"There is no penalty in Italian law for violating US sanctions. The court ignored the principle of double criminality, which is a flagrant disregard for international law. There are obvious inconsistencies in the case, but it was as if the court had ordered the extradition. Our team of international lawyers believes in the political motivation of this decision," Tikhomirov said, adding that the defense was ready to prove lack of evidence on the second charge.
According to the lawyer, Artyom Uss incriminate Artyom Uss for bank fraud as well. "He had nothing to do with the transactions in question in the indictment. He was only a shareholder in the company accused of violating sanctions, but he did not manage it. Artyom Uss did not have access to the accounts of this company and did not receive any profit from it, did not sign any financial documents, and has never been involved in any negotiations with crude oil suppliers and did not visit the United States or Venezuela for this purpose," Tikhomirov explained.
On the morning of March 24, the governor of Russia’s Siberian Krasnoyarsk Region, Alexander Uss, commented on the disappearance of his son from house arrest, saying that the case against Artem Uss was grossly falsified.