Putin’s aide’s son leaked military technology subject to sanctions
Arrested at unsolicited request, but sentenced to house arrest by I court
Return to Russia with the help of a Serbian criminal gang
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 31st (local time) that the son of a prominent Russian politician, who is close to Vladimir Putin, was arrested in Italy on charges of exporting US military technology to Russia and then fled.
The fugitive was Artemus, who escaped to Moscow after being under house arrest in Italy. The WSJ reported that the U.S. government had warned of the possibility of fleeing in advance, but Uth, with the help of a Serbian criminal organization, escaped from the pursuit of the Italian police in a car.
The WSJ pointed out that the incident has created tension between the United States and Italy and damaged Italy’s efforts to join the West against Russia over the war in Ukraine.
The WSJ emphasized that the opportunity to secure valuable figures to exchange with detained Americans, such as WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovic, who was detained in Russia, was lost. The WSJ added that Usu is the most broad-minded Russian figure among Russians detained in the West after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The fugitive’s father was Alexander Us, who until recently was governor of Krasnoyarsk. He said of his son’s return, “I would like to express my special thanks to our President. Putin is the head of state and at the same time a big-hearted and broad-minded person.”
Us was charged with exporting military technology and oil and laundering money in violation of U.S. sanctions, facing up to 30 years in prison, and the Italian government agreed to extradite him to the United States.
The U.S. embassy in Italy said it was disappointed that Uss escaped, and the WSJ reported that U.S. officials were angry that the Italian government did not explain what went wrong and allowed the escape.
Italian Prime Minister Giorza Meloni said after Us escaped: “It was obviously wrong. One of them, he said, was the judge’s decision to place Usu under house arrest following a deportation decision.
The WSJ criticized Uss’ escape as raising suspicions that it was due to corruption, collusion, or a pro-Russian stance in the Italian government or judiciary, citing a legal expert’s statement that Italy neglected to monitor Uss by overlooking how important he was to Russia and the United States. did.
U.S. judicial authorities launched an investigation into Usu’s alleged illegal export of Venezuelan oil through a German trading company early last year and the transfer of sensitive U.S. dual-use technology to Russia, such as semiconductors used in ballistic missiles, fighter jets and smart bombs. Some of these semiconductors were actually found in missiles that attacked Ukraine.
Usu’s father is a director of Rosneft, Russia’s state-run oil company, and has a close relationship with Putin’s closest aide, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin. The Usu family has done business all over the world, from London real estate to Malaysian aerospace companies to hotels in Sardinia. The U.S. government placed Us and his father under sanctions for “harmful foreign activity” by the Russian government.
On October 17 last year, Artem Us was arrested at Malpensa Airport in Milan, Italy, while trying to board a flight to Istanbul. His partner was arrested in Germany and is in custody pending extradition to the United States.
Us was held in a prison outside Milan, and the US Department of Justice sent a letter to the Italian government and the tribunal responsible for the case, saying that he should remain in prison “because of a high risk of flight”.
On November 25 last year, an Italian court granted Us’ request for house arrest, and prosecutors did not appeal.
In response, the U.S. Embassy in Italy requested a reconsideration of the decision by the Italian Ministry of Justice, citing that six suspects under house arrest had fled in the last three years alone in a letter requested, but the court did not accept it.
In this regard, lawyer Nicola Canestrini said that according to Italian law, “It is natural to place Uz under house arrest. Freedom is a basic right, and if politics takes away the right, it will be limited.”
As a result, Uth was placed under house arrest in a large gated mansion in an upscale suburb of Milan, where he had access to a cell phone and Internet access and could receive guests. Carabinieri military police inspected several times daily. However, Italian intelligence services did not monitor Us for fear of illegal interference in the trial process.
On March 22nd, the day after a Milan court ruled that Uss be deported to the United States, Uss disappeared. An alarm from an ankle monitoring device powered by the building’s Wi-Fi network alerted police in the afternoon and was gone by the time police arrived.
Russian intelligence agents in Italy, under surveillance, did not directly intervene in Uth’s escape, and a Serbian criminal gang managed to escape him abroad. Usu changed cars and fled to Serbia, from where he went to Moscow.
Usu told Russia’s state-run Ria Novosti news agency on April 4, “I’m back in Russia. Over the past few days he has had help from people he trusts. An Italian court believed to be fair revealed its political bias. He tried to give in to pressure from the US authorities,” he said.
Italy’s Ministry of Justice launched disciplinary action against three judges at a Milan court who imposed house arrest, but the judges’ union protested and threatened a strike.
Source: Donga