A Russian entrepreneur accused of smuggling American technologies to Russian arms manufacturers has escaped from house arrest in Italy 24 hours after a court there approved his extradition to the U.S., the Italian newspaper La Stampa reported Thursday.
Artyom Uss, 40, the son of the governor of Russia’s Krasnoyarsk region, was one of five Russians detained at Milan’s Malpensa Airport at Washington’s request on Oct. 17, 2022, over “unlawful schemes to export powerful” U.S. military technology to Russia.
“On the afternoon of March 22, the Russian manager broke his electronic bracelet and left his apartment in Basiglio,” La Stampa wrote, referring to a town in Milan’s suburbs where Uss was under house arrest.
“When the carabinieri [law enforcement] arrived, there was already no trace left,” La Stampa wrote,
An Italian court had approved his extradition to the U.S. on Monday.
Uss’s defense filed an appeal on Monday, but the Italian court rejected it and approved his extradition.
Uss faces a number of charges in the U.S. including sanctions violations and money laundering that could see him sentenced to decades in prison.
He has pleaded innocent to the charges and asked in court to be handed over to Russia.
We have updated the photo in this article to one of Artyom Uss. An earlier version of this article incorrectly used a photo of a local official.