GENEVA, October 3 (RIA Novosti)-Switzerland will extradite Yevgeny Adamov, a former minister for nuclear power, to the United States, an official for the Swiss justice department said Monday.
Adamov, who was minister from 1998 to 2001, was arrested on May 2 in Berne at the request of the U.S. authorities, which suspect him of embezzling $9 million.
Both Russia and the U.S. sought his extradition from Switzerland. But the Swiss authorities took the view that the U.S. petition was a priority.
Adamov's lawyers now have 30 days to appeal against the decision in the Switzerland's highest legal body, the Federal Supreme Court in Lausanne.
The main argument the Swiss authorities gave in favor of extraditing Adamov to the U.S. was that the ex-minister was a Russian citizen and Russia did not extradite its own. Therefore, according to the Swiss justice department, there is no guarantee that Russia will extradite Adamov to the U.S. in the future.
The U.S., however, said it was ready to send Adamov, who started a hunger strike in protest at how long it was taking to decide his extradition, back to his homeland to face justice there.
According to the Swiss authorities, this decision should satisfy both Russia and the U.S., as both countries will have the opportunity to prosecute Adamov.
The U.S. filed an official extradition request on June 24, and Russia did so on May 17. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office has charged the ex-minister with embezzlement and abuse of office.
