Extradition of fraud suspect to Russia postponed

A 47-year-old Ukrainian man with Russian citizenship whom the Cypriot courts agreed to extradite to Russia has had the process postponed, due to the “force majeure” of the invasion.

The ban on flights between Russia and Cyprus are just one of the complicating factors, while the 47-year-old’s lawyer also cited the ongoing war in a letter sent to the justice ministry on March 11.

The ministry replied saying that as permitted with the legislation, force majeure conditions have led the suspension of the extradition pending further discussions with the Russian authorities. Extraditions typically take place within two months of the order, which the court imposed on January 17 – later being upended by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The case is centred on the 47-year-old, a father of four, who was stopped on a “red notice” at Paphos airport in October 2020. He is wanted by the Russian authorities as he is accused of being involved in a fraud scam of about €4.5m – a sum which was linked to the construction of apartment blocks.

The man was born in Donetsk but lived for a substantial amount of time in Russia and has citizenship there.