Cherkasov is serving a sentence in Brazil on prices of utilizing fraudulent paperwork.
Brazil’s justice minister, Flávio Dino, stated on Twitter that Cherkasov will stay imprisoned in Brazil in the meanwhile. A Russian request for Cherkasov on allegations of drug trafficking had been conditionally accepted by Brazil’s Supreme Court docket earlier this yr, making Brazil unable to finish the U.S. request, the Brazilian Justice Ministry said. Nevertheless, the Russian request can be pending Brazil’s personal spying investigation into Cherkasov.
Paulo Ferreira, considered one of Cherkasov’s attorneys, couldn’t instantly be reached for remark Friday night time. He advised the Wall Road Journal his shopper is just not a Russian spy.
The Justice Division and State Division didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
The Justice Division’s March criticism alleges Cherkasov acted as a sort of deep-cover Russian agent referred to as an “unlawful.” Such brokers function with none recognized hyperlink to their house authorities and sometimes construct elaborate false identities.
Cherkasov lived below the alias Victor Muller Ferreira, a Brazilian citizen, however U.S. and Brazilian authorities say he was really born in Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.
Cherkasov was seen by some as a potential bargaining chip in a prisoner swap america is searching for to barter in change for Wall Road Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who’s being held in Russia on espionage allegations. Gershkovich and the Journal each say the cost is fake, and the State Division says he has been wrongfully detained.
