A court in Larnaca (a city in Cyprus – ed.) refused to grant the US request for the extradition of Russian Arthur Petrov, who was arrested in Cyprus last August. In a conversation with the agency's correspondent, Petrov called the court's decision a "positive development."
Petrov, who also holds German citizenship, was arrested at the request of the US authorities, who accuse him of illegally exporting US-made microelectronics to Russia for military use.
According to the investigation, Petrov and his two Russian accomplices purchased a large batch of electronics from American firms from February 2022 to August 2023 for the St. Petersburg-based company Electrocom VPK, which in turn supplies products to Russian arms manufacturers.
At the same time, Petrov allegedly assured the American companies that the electronics would be used in fire safety systems in Cyprus or other countries.
To conceal the direction of delivery, fictitious companies registered in third countries were used.
Background. Meanwhile, it has become known that Cypriot banks have closed the accounts of 82% of clients from Russia. Cyprus' close ties with Russian capital are now history.