Russia regional governor quits after son dodges extradition to US

The governor of the giant Russian territory of Krasnoyarsk has quit, authorities said on Thursday, shortly after his businessman son dodged Italian authorities trying to extradite him to the United States and fled to Russia.

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree accepting the resignation of Alexander Uss but gave no details.

His son, Artem Uss, was due to face charges in the U.S. for shipping oil from Venezuela in breach of sanctions, and for bank fraud. An Italian court allowed him out on house arrest last month but he quickly fled.

In a video released on April 9, after Artem Uss was back in Russia, Alexander Uss thanked those who had helped him return. He also said he was grateful to Putin, describing him as “a man with a big and open heart”.

Uss wrote on Telegram on Thursday that had talked to Putin recently and received an offer to continue working at the federal level, dealing with socio-economic development.

Italy’s justice minister has begun disciplinary action against three judges who granted Uss house arrest, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

Earlier this month Artem Uss told Russia’s RIA news agency that the U.S. charges against him were politically motivated.

The territory of Krasnoyarsk covers just under 2.4 million sq km (930,000 sq miles) in Siberia.