The Court of Appeals in Nis, Serbia, confirmed an earlier refusal to extradite fugitive Andrii Naumov, the former head of the internal security department of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), reported RFE/RL's Ukrainian service on Oct. 6.
The move effectively closed the case, and pending any other unforeseen developments, prevented Naumov from being forced by Serbia to face trial in Ukraine.
On Sept. 29, Naumov was convicted by the High Court of Nis on money laundering charges, a crime unrelated to the SBU case , and sentenced to a year in a Serbian prison.
In Ukraine, Naumov is suspected of abuse of power in an official position, fraud, and causing losses to the state of more than Hr 3.2 million ($87,000).
The suspect left the country on Feb. 23, 2022, just hours before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
On Sept. 2., Justice Minister Denys Maliuska said on national television that Ukraine is working with European countries on extraditing corrupt officials who fled the country.
Maliuska explained that the extradition process is complex due to European court systems and Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine.
Igor Kossov
