Evgeny Adamov will be extradited to Russia

January 2, 2006

Following 8 months of deliberations,a Switzerland court has decided to extradite Evgeny Adamov to Russia, rather than the United States, where he will face corruption charges. The US warrant for the arrest accused Adamov, a former nuclear energy minister, of diverting $9 million slated to improve Russia's nuclear security to private projects in the US and Russia. He was arrested while visiting Switzerland to help his daughter who had had her bank account frozen.

Mikhail Kamynin, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said "We are plased with the Federal Court's decision, although we are talking about an independent court. Therefore, we assume that all the formalities will be fulfilled in the shortest time ."

Adamov has defended himself, admitting that he put US money into his private accounts, but claiming that this was common practice in Russia and was necessary to shield the money from hyperinflation and instability in the banking system.