Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security announced on Thursday that they have denied the United States’ request to extradite alleged Russian spy Sergey Cherkasov. The Justice Department had charged Cherkasov in March for acting as an illegal agent of a Russian intelligence service while he was attending graduate school in Washington for two years.
The Brazilian Ministry of Justice stated that they considered the US request unfounded because Brazil’s Supreme Court had already approved Russia’s extradition request in April. However, they have suspended plans to move forward with Cherkasov’s extradition to Russia. Russia claims that Cherkasov is not a spy and that he is wanted for narcotics trafficking.
Brazil’s justice minister, Flávio Dino, stated in a social media post that Cherkasov will remain imprisoned in Brazil for now. Cherkasov’s extradition to Russia will only take place after the final judgment of all his cases in Brazil, according to his lawyer, Paulo Ferreira.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the matter. The dispute over Cherkasov’s extradition comes amidst increasing tensions between the US and Russia over the war in Ukraine and the wrongful detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
US authorities allege that Cherkasov assumed a false identity in Brazil over a decade ago after obtaining a fraudulent birth certificate. Under the alias Victor Muller Ferreira, he allegedly participated in the Russian “illegals” program, where spies develop cover stories and do not have diplomatic immunity. Posing as a Brazilian student, he gained admission to Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies in Washington and obtained a US visa.
According to court documents, Cherkasov sent messages about US policy on Russia’s potential invasion of Ukraine to his handlers in late 2021. This included information he obtained from conversations with experts and online forums or reports about Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine’s border and the potential US response.
In early 2022, Cherkasov was denied entry to the Netherlands as he was about to begin an internship with the International Criminal Court in The Hague. He was subsequently arrested in Brazil for fraud.
Cherkasov’s lawyer stated that his prison sentence was reduced from 15 years to five years this week after some of the charges against him were dropped. The lawyers are also seeking approval for Cherkasov to serve the remainder of his sentence outside of prison.
It should be noted that Rob Legare contributed reporting to this article.
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