Russia's Nikitin Transferred To ICE Facility In US' Georgia Pending Deportation - Lawyer

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th October, 2021) US authorities have transferred Russian national Oleg Nikitin, who was sentenced in September for violating export regulations, to an Immigration and Custom Enforcement prison ahead of his deportation to Russia, Nikitin's lawyer Alexey Tarasov told Sputnik on Tuesday.

"We are told that Oleg Nikitin's case has high priority within US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the way of removal. In fact, he had been transferred to the Steward Detention Center in the city of Lumpkin, Georgia that is in proximity to Atlanta," Tarasov said.

The lawyer recalled that his client had completed his Federal sentence.

In September, Nikitin received a sentence of 28 months, which is nearly equivalent to the time he served in custody, Tarasov added.

The US Justice Department said earlier that Nikitin was a general director of St. Petersburg-based energy company KS Engineering (KSE) and conspired with his business partner Anton Cheremukhin as well three foreign nationals to purchase a US-made power turbine worth $17.3 million in violation of US trade regulations. The turbine was to be employed on a Russian Arctic deep water drilling platform, the Justice Department said.