Moscow City Court finds Ivankov not guilty of the murder of two Turkish citizens

MOSCOW, July 20 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow City Court has found Vyacheslav Ivankov not guilty of the murder of two Turkish citizens. The court delivered its verdict on Monday after the jury unanimously decided that Ivankov's guilt could not be proven. The acquitted has the right to compensation for both psychological and material damages while under arrest. Ivankov (known as "Yaponchik") was accused, along with a deceased criminal boss nicknamed "Sliva," of killing two Turkish citizens in a Moscow restaurant in 1992.

In June 2004, the General Prosecutor's Office filed a request petitioning the U.S. to extradite Ivankov to Russia. U.S. authorities agreed to the extradition.

Ivankov was freed on July 11, 2004, after spending almost ten years in the Allenwood high-security prison in Pensylvania, and transferred to U.S. immigration authorities, who arranged his extradition to Russia.

In the U.S. Ivankov served a sentence for organizing a fake marriage to gain citizenship and extorting $3.5 million from two Russian immigrants.