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Superpowers fight it out over Russian hacker in Colombo
A Russian wanted for extradition from Sri Lanka by a US Grand Jury has sparked a row in Colombo with Russia also asking for his extradition – and the man’s whereabouts are now unknown after he obtained bail from the Court of Appeal earlier this month.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has launched a manhunt for the fugitive, but believes he has fled the country.
While the superpowers are fighting it out in the Colombo High Court for 22-year-old Manokhin Fedor Raufovich, said to be a computer expert and wanted by a court in Florida on charges of stealing financial and personal information by way of computer hacking and also of money laundering with associates in Bulgaria, the fugitive is believed to have left Sri Lanka without the Immigration Department’s knowledge.
Mr. Raufovich, whose bail conditions were to report to the CID every Friday, last reported to CID headquarters on December 1 (a public holiday) when he was asked to report again on Monday (Dec. 4). he has not reported since. This has led CID detectives and the State Intelligence authorities to discern if he has been smuggled out of the country.
Underscoring the significance of the case was the presence of diplomats and others from both the US and Russia in court. Former Russian Ambassador Alexander Karcheva and his successor Yuri Materiy have been present in courts besides senior US Embassy officials. The US State Department has hired local lawyers too.
The high profile drama began when the United States Embassy in Colombo urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in February to extradite Mr. Raufovich. Acting on the request, the Attorney General’s Department moved the Colombo High Court which issued a provisional warrant. CID detectives thereafter arrested him.
Mr. Raufovich was first arrested at Weligama hotel in March this year while holidaying with his wife and daughter. The arrest was requested on the grounds that a District Court in the US (Florida) issued a warrant in terms of the 1999 Extradition Treaty between the US and Sri Lanka. In terms of the treaty, an ‘Authority to Proceed’ has to be issued by the relevant Minister (which is the President as Minister of Defence). He obtained conditional bail after the then Russian ambassador addressed court on behalf of the fugitive. The High Court Judge directed the Registrar of the Court to issue notice on the relevant Minister (Minister of defence) to issue the ‘Authority to Proceed’.
He was re-arrested once again when the US authorities pressed for his extradition. The Russian authorities had in the meantime also made an application for his extradition, but the Sri Lankan authorities took up the position that there had been no Extradition Treaty between Russia and Sri Lanka at the time, and that the treaty came into force only on November 6 2017, an argument contested by Mr. Raufovich’s lawyers.
In the meantime, Russia’s Prosecutor General made a request for the extradition of Mr. Raufovich to Moscow. This was in terms of the Sri Lanka-Russia Extradition Treaty. The Prosecutor General said that the man was wanted on charges of “stealing someone else’s property and being part of an organised group”. He also cited a provision in the Russian Constitution to say “a citizen of the Russian Federation may not be deported from Russia or extradited to another State.”
When the Russian side made a second appeal after November 6, 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the Russian embassy in Colombo that in view of the second appeal the Attorney General would look at the issues afresh.
Early this month, Mr. Raufovich obtained bail for the second time from the Court of Appeal as his lawyers and the Attorney General argued on the legal technicalities of multiple or concurrent requests from countries for extradition of a fugitive.
Meanwhile, along with Mr. Raufovich, his wife and daughter have also mysteriously ‘disappeared’. Immigration officials say their computer records do not show anyone by the name of Fedor Raufovich departing from any Sri Lankan air or sea port.
The Raufovich case has generated speculation on the reasons why both, the US and Russia were so keen to have this alleged computer hacker and if he is wanted in any other investigation in the US other than money laundering.
The Attorney General appeared for the Government of Sri Lanka and Mr, Anura Meddegoda PC watched the interests of the US embassy. Mr. Upul Jayasuriya PC appeared for Mr. Raufovich.