“Brazil’s government has denied a request from the U.S. to extradite alleged Russian spy Sergey Cherkasov, the Justice Ministry said Thursday in a statement.
The decision on what to do with Cherkasov, a 37-year-old who was indicted in the U.S. in March, is preliminary and subject to review by Brazilian authorities, a top government official said Thursday. The U.S. has charged Cherkasov with acting as a foreign agent, visa fraud, bank fraud and wire fraud.
Brazilian authorities, who said they didn’t immediately notify the U.S. of the decision, declined to elaborate on the reasons for the denial. The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment.”