Artem Uss, the son of Alexander Uss, a prominent political figure who leads the Krasnoyarsk Territory, escaped from house arrest in Milan. The development was first reported by the Italian newspaper La Stampa.
According to La Stampa, on the afternoon of March 22 a Russian executive removed his electronic bracelet and left his Basiglio apartment, a town just south of Milan. The fifty-year-old man had already vanished by the time Italian gendarmes from the Corsico precinct arrived on the scene. The Milan appeals court had previously approved his extradition to the United States, where prosecutors accuse him of sanctions violations related to Russia and Venezuela, illegal financial transactions, and money laundering. Italian authorities have since issued a search for him.
Artem Uss, who was detained at Milan Malpensa Airport on October 17, 2022 at the request of the United States on a plan to travel to Turkey, is believed by U.S. prosecutors to be implicated in multiple offenses. The allegations center on the procurement of restricted military technologies, semiconductors, microprocessors, and other sensitive electronic components through a German company that he and several associates allegedly owned. These items are said to have been diverted to support components of the Russian defense industry, in violation of sanctions.
Another key element of the case concerns a partnership with Yuri Orekhov, who was arrested in Germany on the same day as Artem Uss. U.S. authorities contend that the pair used Hamburg based NDA GmbH as a front to facilitate the movement of hundreds of millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil to Russia and to China. After his arrest, Uss was initially placed in a prison in Busto Arsizio, in the province of Varese. By late November of the previous year, prosecutors replaced the preventive measure with house arrest.
Uss has consistently denied the charges. His lawyer stated that the businessman maintains operations in Italy and does not conduct business through this territory. In Russia, Uss was accused in absentia of money laundering. Moscow also submitted an extradition request to Italian investigators. Artem Uss himself has requested the proceedings move forward. Italian media have noted that Rome might extradite the governor’s son to Washington to be used in a potential prisoner exchange in the future.
The father, Alexander Uss, who leads the Krasnoyarsk Territory, criticized the arrest and described the case as politically motivated. He argued that the supply of petroleum products, publicly available equipment and technical tools, freely bought and sold around the world, had suddenly become a target for American authorities and questioned the political motivation behind the charges. The statement was released on Telegram. The Kremlin condemned the arrest, with Dmitry Peskov, the presidential press secretary, stating that such detentions of Russian citizens were unacceptable. Russian diplomats pledged to do everything possible to assist the businessman in Italy, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the U.S. move as part of a broader campaign to capture Russians, suggesting that the accusations would lead to long prison terms for their citizens. In late March, Kommersant cited sources within the presidential administration as indicating that Alexander Uss could be dismissed in the near term for rating concerns. Earlier, Vedomosti had reported on possible changes to his position as well.