This former Moscow regional official's wife has just been sentenced in absentia to 11 years behind bars for embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars

Zhanna Bulakh, the wife (perhaps the ex-wife) of former Moscow region Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Kuznetsov, is cradling her U.S. citizenship today like it was her oxygen tank deep below the sea. On Tuesday, a Moscow court sentenced her in absentia to 11 years in prison for allegedly embezzling 11 billion rubles ($194.6 million) from the regional budget and causing more than 9 billion rubles ($159.1 million) in damages.

Russian officials plan to recover some of these losses by claiming her property seized by the French authorities, which includes two hotels, an apartment in Paris, a villa in St. Tropez, a yacht, several luxury cars including a Rolls-Royce, and several paintings and sculptures.

• Bulakh is an American citizen and the U.S. has refused to turn her over to Russia, ignoring an international arrest warrant issued by Moscow through Interpol.
• Bulakh’s husband (possibly her ex-husband) was detained in France in July 2013. Paris and Moscow are still debating his possible extradition to Russia.