ROME, April 20. /TASS/. The United States informed Italian border agencies in October of 2022 that Russian businessman Artyom Uss, wanted by the US, was probably staying in Italy, the country’s Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio said on Thursday.

"On October 16, 2022, the [US] Department of the Interior signaled Italian customs services that Mr. Uss might arrive at Malpensa Airport to fly to Istanbul," he said, addressing the lower house of parliament.

According to Nordio, the message highlighted "the dangerousness of the suspect," who had been charged with evading sanctions and money laundering by the US Department of Justice.

"We are conducting the necessary probes to figure out if it is possible to freeze Artyom Uss’s assets," the minister added.

Artyom Uss, the son of Krasnoyarsk Region Governor Alexander Uss, was detained at Milan’s Malpensa Airport on October 17, 2022. After this initial detention, Uss was placed under house arrest. On March 21, a court in Milan ordered that the Russian be extradited to the United States. On March 23, news came that Artyom Uss had disappeared. He later showed up at the Russian Interior Ministry’s investigative department. A Russian court previously declared Uss internationally wanted in connection with a major money laundering case.

Nordio claimed that his ministry could in no way influence the decision of Milan’s Appeals Court, which had ruled that Uss be placed under house arrest despite persistent warnings from the US about a high flight risk. The minister stressed that the arrest had not been made at the request of the Italian Ministry of Justice but a competent foreign agency, and was based on an international warrant. Apart from the United States, Russia also sought Uss’s extradition, with Russia’s request coming two days after the US’.

According to the Italian minister, the US "was beside itself" after Uss was switched to house arrest.