Appeals court orders extradition of Russian national over space programme fraud

The Cyprus Court of Appeal has unanimously ordered the extradition of a Russian national to the Russian Federation to face charges of large-scale fraud and breach of trust. The ruling, issued on August 11, 2026, by judges C.V. Charalambous, M. Toumazis, and Th. Thoma, overturns a previous decision by the Paphos District Court, which had initially rejected the extradition request due to uncertainty regarding the validity of the Russian arrest warrant. The court has now ordered the suspect's detention until he is formally handed over to Russian authorities.

The case involves the alleged misappropriation of funds from a major Russian state-funded space programme worth over 15.15 billion roubles (approximately €160 million). According to accusations, the suspect, a former employee of a Russian space firm, facilitated the awarding of a 1.32 billion rouble contract to a specific company without a competitive tender. Authorities allege that while 478 million roubles were used for the project, approximately 840 million roubles—equivalent to €7.8 million—were siphoned off by an organized criminal group. The suspect was originally arrested in Cyprus in November 2024 following a provisional warrant, and he will remain in custody pending his transfer to Russia.