By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow: Poland has extradited to Russia a former Moscow region deputy prosecutor, wanted for his involvement in illegal casino rackets, the Russian interior ministry said Thursday.
A plane carrying Alexander Ignatenko landed at Moscow’s Sheremetevo-2 airport.
Ignatenko was placed on the international wanted list after police uncovered a massive gambling operation in 2011.
Poland’s Internal Security Agency detained Ignatenko at the popular ski resort of Zakopane in January 2012. He spent 11 months in custody before his extradition.
Igantenko faces up to 12 years in prison in Russia if convicted.
According to law enforcement authorities, high-ranking officials in the Russian Prosecutor’s Office and the interior ministry were involved in the casino businesses, which generated $5 to $10 million in revenue monthly.
Gambling has been illegal in Russia – except in four designated zones – since 2009, but still flourishes as a huge undercover business.