NEW YORK, August 9. /TASS/. Russian national Artur Petrov, who was arrested in Cyprus last August at the request of US law enforcement, has been extradited to the United States.

According to the US Department of Justice, Petrov, "a dual Russian and German national, made his initial appearance in federal court today, following his extradition from the Republic of Cyprus for criminal offenses related to export control violations, smuggling, wire fraud and money laundering."

On April 25, the Cyprus Court of Appeal approved Petrov’s extradition to the United States, where he is facing charges of illegally exporting US-made microelectronics to Russia. Petrov faces a total of 11 criminal counts, each carrying a prison term of five to 20 years.

Petrov was arrested in Cyprus on August 26, 2023, at Washington’s request on charges of illegally exporting US-made microelectronics to Russia. The US Department of Justice alleged that he "participated in an international illicit procurement network," which after the start of Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine "illegally procured large quantities of sensitive microelectronics for a Russian company." The department also claimed that "the transactions and shipments were in contravention of US export controls relating to Russia."

Petrov has been saying from the very start that he believes his case to be politically motivated and he is being persecuted in the United States simply for being "a Russian entrepreneur.".