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Brazil rejects US extradition request for Russian military intelligence officer who sought job at International Criminal Court
Brazilian authorities have refused to extradite Russian military intelligence (GRU) officer Sergei Cherkasov, who is accused of espionage in the United States. The Brazilian Justice Ministry called the United States' extradition request “unfounded,” as a similar request was previously filed by Russia, and was approved by the Brazilian Supreme Court.
However, Cherkasov's extradition to Russia is currently on hold, as he is still under investigation in Brazil. Cherkasov is serving a sentence in a Brazilian prison for document forgery and is also a defendant in an espionage case.
Cherkasov was detained at the border in the Netherlands in June 2022, after arriving for an internship at the International Criminal Court (ICC) disguised as a Brazilian citizen. The Dutch Intelligence Agency (AIVD) discovered that he was actually a Russian citizen using the Brazilian alias “Viktor Muller Ferreira.”
The AIVD then issued a press release detailing how it had thwarted an attempt by a Russian military intelligence agent to intern at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The press release described both his real identity and his “legend” — a false identity created by the GRU. Read more about Cherkasov here and here.