The United States is seeking the extradition of a man from Bosnia and Herzegovina for helping the indicted son of a Russian governor close to Vladimir Putin escape house arrest earlier this year.
The alleged prison break took place in Italy in March, after an Italian judge ruled to extradite Artem Uss, 40, to the US to face charges for allegedly shipping military technologies purchased from US manufacturers to Russian buyers.
Uss, the son of recently resigned Krasnoyarsk Governor Aleksandr Uss, was indicted in 2022 and after being found guilty, was filmed fleeing house arrest in Milan on March 22, with the help of several individuals, including Vladimir Jovancic , 51.
Jovancic – one of six men allegedly linked to a Serbian organized crime group recruited by the US – was taken into custody in Croatia on Monday, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn just announced.
He is now being held on charges of helping Artem Uss flee Italy Russia – which the Fed says he posted on social media celebrating his safe return – ahead of his upcoming extradition to the United States.
The alleged prison break took place in Italy in March, after an Italian judge ruled to extradite Artem Uss, 40, to Russia to face charges for allegedly shipping military technologies purchased from American manufacturers to Russian buyers. He is seen here with alleged smuggler Vladimir Jovancic, who was arrested on Monday
Wanted in the US on charges of smuggling Western technologies in violation of Western sanctions and money laundering. Uss's father is Aleksandr Uss (right), the recently resigned governor of the Krasnoyarsk Krai region who is friends with Vladimir Putin. The two were pictured together in 2017
In a December 4 letter to the U.S. district judge hearing the case, prosecutors demanded that Jovancic be detained once he arrived in the U.S. to ensure he was brought to justice.
In the same correspondence, the FBI recorded a single surveillance still showing the pair strolling out of Artem Uss's home in Milan, before describing how they allegedly used bolt cutters, 50,000 euros and a cross-country car ride to avoid extradition.
The letter is addressed to U.S. District Judge Rachel P. Kovner and begins: “The government writes about Defendant Vladimir Jovancic, who is charged in the above-mentioned indictment.”
It further adds that the suspected gangster 'has been taken into custody in Croatia and will undergo extradition proceedings to the United States.
“As described in the indictment and herein, the defendant poses an irredeemable flight risk and has significant ties to foreign jurisdictions, including non-extradition countries.
“The government therefore advocates a permanent detention order pending the trial,” the memorandum concludes.
It then goes on to provide some background on Artem Uss and the underlying criminal charges surrounding his case, which allege that he knowingly attempted to “obstruct and obstruct an official legal proceeding” by hiring Jovancic and five others.
One of the men, identified by prosecutors as the younger USS business partner Yury Orekhov, who allegedly orchestrated a transnational fraud, smuggling and money laundering operation with the ex-governor's son.
Krasnoyarsk Governor Aleksandr Uss resigned last April – days after his son returned to Russia
Prosecutors said Artem Uss and his wife Jovancic paid 50,000 euros (or $54,110) to transport Uss in a car from Milan across the border to Slovenia and eventually to Serbia, where he boarded a plane to Moscow.
They also described Jovancic's role in Uss's escape.
“The investigation into Uss's escape revealed that Jovancic and other individuals associated with a Serbian organized crime group were recruited by Uss in or around January 2023 to help him flee to Russia in the event that extradition was granted.” , the section reads.
The Bosnian national then met Uss's wife at a hotel in Milan, Italy, the prosecutor added, “where they planned for Jovancic to deliver groceries to Uss's residence in Milan as a pretext so that Jovancic's presence would not would arouse suspicion if an escape was necessary. '
“Uss' wife also provided Jovancic with a cell phone and a $10,000 deposit for his services,” the letter continues, and Jovancic was later given a key card that gave him direct access to Uss' home.”
The note then centers on the day of Uss's escape, following the Italian court's decision to extradite us to the US, where Jovancic and several other co-conspirators arrived at Uss's home.
“Once there, Jovancic escorted us to a car and provided us with bolt cutters, with which Uss removed his electronic ankle monitor and threw it out the window. Jovancic and his co-conspirators then drove us across the border into Slovenia.
The ex-governor's 40-year-old son – seen here with Putin – was arrested as he was about to board a flight to Istanbul in October 2022. Putin gave no reason for the elder Uss's resignation
“Over the next few days,” the report continues, Jovancic and his co-conspirators took us through Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina before crossing into Serbia, where the US paid Jovancic another 40,000 euros before boarding a plane to Russia.
Surveillance video captured Jovancic arriving at Uss' home and leaving with us on the day of the escape. Below is a still image of Jovancic and Uss leaving the building.”
The October 20, 2022 indictment against the US, which also accused him of sending Venezuelan oil to Russian and Chinese buyers in violation of US sanctions, came as the US sought to crack down on sanctions violations and export controls to to pressure Putin to halt trade in Moscow. war in Ukraine.
In addition, the US State Department said on Tuesday it was offering a $7 million reward for information leading to Uss' arrest in connection with the major sanctions evasion and smuggling case, months after his father resigned shortly after his son returned to Russia .
Jovancic, described by prosecutors as a member of a Serbian organized crime group, faces two counts of obstruction of justice and abetting or assisting escape.
Onss, meanwhile, is wanted in the US on charges of smuggling Western technologies in violation of Western sanctions and money laundering. He faces a prison sentence of up to 30 years, Milan prosecutors said.