MOSCOW, December 9. /TASS/. /TASS/. US President Joe Biden pardoned Viktor Bout when the Russian businessman was outside US jurisdiction already, under an arrangement similar to the one that was used when another Russian national, Konstantin Yaroshenko, was swapped, Bout’s lawyer said on Friday.

Speaking on Channel One television, Alexey Tarasov explained, "Biden pardoned Viktor not within US jurisdiction, but when Viktor was already outside America and when it was 100% obvious that there would be an exchange. The same arrangement, in essence, was used with Konstantin Yaroshenko, and [he was pardoned] when both the US national and the Russian citizen were on the runway in Abu Dhabi already, when they were walking toward each other."

According to Tarasov, Bout was taken from the US with the permission of a federal judge who authorized US federal marshals to fetch and transport him outside the United States and keep him either until December 16 or until he was pardoned by the president.

"There is no certainty in such affairs until the last moment, and the United States does not know for sure if there will be a swap. I mean, the president never issues instructions to pardon anyone until it becomes obvious that an exchange will take place," Tarasov expanded.

Reports about Bout’s swap for US basketball player Brittney Griner, who was convicted in Russia for hashish oil smuggling, emerged on Thursday. The businessman returned to Russia last night.

Viktor Bout was apprehended in Thailand’s capital of Bangkok in 2008 following a sting by US federal agents. He was charged with conspiracy to deliver weapons to a group regarded as a terrorist organization by the United States. In 2010, Bout was extradited to the United States. In April 2012, he was sentenced to 25 years behind bars and issued a $15 million fine.