The United States is seeking the extradition of a Russian spy who posed as a Brazilian

The USA appealed to Brazil with a request for the extradition of the alleged Russian spy Sergei Cherkasov, who was sentenced to prison in this country for using false documents in the name of a Brazilian citizen. The request was reported by the Washington Post, which claims that it was sent on April 25. The US Department of Justice claims that the Russian was engaged in intelligence activities in Washington, pretending to be a foreign student.

Moscow previously sent Brazil its own request for the extradition of Cherkasov. In Russia, a criminal case has been initiated against him on charges of drug trafficking. According to the Russian authorities, Cherkasov was a major drug dealer who supplied heroin from Afghanistan. The Russian admitted this and asked for deportation to his family.

Last year, the authorities of the Netherlands sent the Brazilian citizen Victor Müller Ferreira to Brazil for an internship at the International Criminal Court. The Dutch special services have established that the Brazilian is actually a Russian citizen working for military intelligence. In Brazil, he was later sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The Russian authorities, as reported in the Bellingcat and The Insider investigation, admitted in their request for his extradition that it was about Russian Sergei Cherkasov. The criminal case in which he was named as an accused did indeed exist, but the lawyers of the other participants in the smuggling scheme could not remember that Cherkasov was mentioned in the case.

The statements of the Russian authorities contained in the extradition documents give the impression that the authorities involved Cherkasov in an existing criminal case dating back ten years, in which real drug dealers were prosecuted, writes The Insider. According to the publication, the request was sent to release Cherkasov after his extradition to Moscow. The Russian authorities use a scheme with criminal prosecution of persons whose extradition from third countries is demanded by the United States in order to try to prevent such extradition and achieve their transfer to Russia.

The Brazilian authorities reported that the US request will be forwarded to the country’s Supreme Court, which usually deals with extradition issues. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva may intervene in the case. Cherkasov’s lawyer said that his client had told the Brazilian authorities about his desire to be extradited to Russia.

The details of the accusation against Cherkasov, which was brought forward in the USA, are not given in the publication of the Washington Post.