The Nowy Sacz district court in Poland issued on Wednesday a 40-day arrest for a former Russian prosecutor, Alexander Ignatenko, detained in Poland on Russia’s request amidst illegal gambling scandal, the court’s spokeswoman said.
Ignatenko, first deputy prosecutor of the Moscow Region, was detained in the town of Zakopane in southern Poland on Monday where he had arrived with a Lithuanian passport to meet with his wife and son. He is allegedly involved in covering up an illegal gambling ring outside Moscow.
“The Nowy Sacz district court made a decision to temporarily arrest a Russian citizen, Alexander I. (Polish law prohibits to disclose the last name of the detainee) for 40 days,” the court’s spokeswoman said.
After Ignatenko’s arrest, Moscow will send to Warsaw an official extradition request. Polish Justice Minister Krzysztof Kwiatkowski will make a final decision on his extradition to Moscow.
Ignatenko’s lawyer said that he would appeal the court’s ruling.
The scandal around Ignatenko and other senior officials in the Moscow region government broke out in spring of 2011 when police uncovered a network of illegal casinos in 15 towns just outside Moscow.
Police said the gambling ring organized by Russian businessman Ivan Nazarov with involvement of the officials had brought them a profit of $5-10 million a month.