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Russian national on the Interpol wanted list detained in Bulgaria

The district court of Haskovo arrested 45-year-old Dmitry Zelentsov for 40 days that will be needed to complete the procedures on extradition

© AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani

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SOFIA, December 28. /TASS/. A Russian national put on the Interpol wanted list at the request of the Russian authorities has been arrested in Bulgaria, a district prosecutor’s office reported on Monday.

The district court of Haskovo arrested 45-year-old Dmitry Zelentsov for 40 days that will be needed to complete the procedures on extradition.

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"Within 40 days we are waiting for official documents from the Russian side to confirm the accusation, after which the court must take a decision to extend the arrest and open a case on his extradition to Russia," the prosecutor’s office said.

Zelentsov, a resident of Russia’s Urals city of Yekaterinburg, was detained at a border check point on the border with Turkey on December 23. In Russia he is accused of large scale fraud,, appropriation of $1.8 million as part of an organized criminal group.

The man has been hiding in Bulgaria since October 2014. The head of the consular department at the Russian Embassy to Bulgaria, Alexei Ushakov, has confirmed the arrest to TASS.

"Today, the prosecutor’s office of Haskovo has confirmed the detention of Dmitry Zelentsov. At the present, we are translating the documents that we have received, after which they will be submitted to official Russian agencies. If necessary, Zelentsov will receive consular support," Ushakov said.

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