Montenegro extradites 2 Russian citizens wanted on bribery counts

TULA. Aug 8 (Interfax) - Montenegro has extradited two Russian citizens wanted for bribing an official, the Russian Interior Ministry's press center said on Thursday.

"Russian citizens Alexei Ushkalov and Andrei Markus have been extradited to Russia from Montenegro. They have been indicted on several counts of conspiring to give a major bribe to an official through an intermediary," the press center said.

According to case materials, Markus served as director of a pharmaceutical company's regional center from September 2021 through April 2023. He conspired with chief regional manager Ushkalov.

Investigators found that the defendants gave more than two million rubles to a deputy director of the Bryansk regional health department and some other officials via a third party.

"This was illegal remuneration for facilitating the conclusion of government contracts without tenders," the press center quoted Russian Interior Ministry spokesperson Irina Volk.

The Russian Investigative Committee's branch in the Bryansk region opened a criminal case in April 2023, and the defendants were charged with bribery in October 2023.

Ushkalov and Markus went into hiding outside Russia. They were placed on the international wanted list in December 2023.

The transborder movements of the defendants were tracked down through Interpol channels, and they were detained in Montenegro in March 2024. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office ordered that their extradition be arranged.

"The perpetrators [were] handed over to representatives of Russian law enforcement agencies at Podgorica Airport today to be transported to Moscow," Volk said.