Two of the five accomplices who
allegedly helped Russian businessman Artem Uss flee from house
arrest in Italy in March were arrested on Tuesday, sources said.
One of them, Boris Jovancic, was detained in Desenzano, near
Brescia, while another was caught in Croatia.
A Volvo V60 that was among the cars used to take Uss out of
Italy was registered in Jovancic's name.
Uss, the 40-year-old son of a Siberian governor and oil magnate
close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, broke his ankle tag
while under house arrest in Basiglio, near Milan, and escaped
back to Russia after a Milan court had approved his extradition
to the US, where he is wanted on numerous charges.
He is said to have exploited an international network of
contacts, including a Serbian criminal gang, in order to get
away.
Uss had been arrested in Italy at the request of the United
States on October 17, 2022, and transferred to prison before a
three-judge panel of the Milan court approved his request to be
moved to house arrest.
The US embassy in Rome reportedly asked the Italian authorities
to reconsider because of the risk of escape, but the justice
ministry replied that the jurisdiction rested with the courts.
The affair caused friction between the ministry and the
judiciary and prompted Premier Giorgia Meloni to say the
government would clear up "anomalies".
An investigation into the escape is underway.
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