Russian Governor's Son Assisted By 6-7 People In Escaping House Arrest In Italy - Reports

Artem Uss the son of Alexander Uss, the governor of Russia's Krasnoyarsk Territory was helped by a group of six or seven people to escape house arrest in the suburbs of Milan last week, where he was awaiting his extradition to the United States, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported on Thursday, citing police sources

ROME (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th March, 2023) Artem Uss the son of Alexander Uss, the governor of Russia's Krasnoyarsk Territory was helped by a group of six or seven people to escape house arrest in the suburbs of Milan last week, where he was awaiting his extradition to the United States, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported on Thursday, citing police sources.

On March 21, the Milan Appeals Court made a final decision to extradite Artem Uss to the US. Two days later, the 40-year old Russian disappeared from a rented apartment near Milan, where he was supposed to stay under house arrest. Italian media reported that Uss had managed to turn off the electronic monitoring bracelet, leave the apartment with a backpack and escape in a car waiting for him in a secluded place. The investigation is working on the scenario of a possible involvement of Russian special services in Uss's escape plan.

Investigators have suggested that the Russian businessman hired a group of people, which allegedly consisted of East European citizens, to escape from Italian territory, Corriere della Sera reported.

The group used at least four vehicles during the "release" operation, with two of them being enough to transport the "client" across Italy's national border, the report said.

In October 2022, the US Department of Justice charged Uss and four other Russian citizens with sanctions evasion and money laundering. The Russian governor's son was, in particular, accused of using false documents to purchase sensitive US military equipment for the Russian defense sector. Uss was immediately arrested at Milan Malpensa Airport in Italy, from where he was about to fly to Turkey. In November, Washington transferred materials on the Uss case to a Milan court for his extradition.

The Russian citizen himself has pleaded not guilty. He told the Milan court in November that he had never been in New York and the last time he visited the US was 25 years ago, when he was 14. This information refutes the data in the US indictment documents, Uss said.