Russia Issues Internationally Wanted Notice for UEC Manager Korshunov - Court

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th November, 2019) The Russian Investigative Committee has put Russian national Alexander Korshunov, arrested in Italy on suspicions of industrial espionage, in the internationally wanted list and has asked Moscow's Basmanny District Court to arrest him in absentia, the press secretary of the court, Yunona Tsaryova, told Sputnik on Wednesday.

Korshunov, a top manager of the Russian state corporation Rostec's subsidiary United Engine Corporation (UEC), is suspected of serious fraud. He may face up to ten years in prison in Russia, as well as in the United States, which seeks his extradition, too.

"The court will study the investigators' plea for choosing the preventive punishment in the form of confinement in absentia," Tsaryova said, without revealing any other details.

Korshunov was arrested on August 30 at the Naples International Airport in Italy at the request of the US, which accuses him of conspiring to steal trade secrets from a US aviation company, along with Maurizio Bianchi, former director of the Italian aerospace company Avio S.p.A, which was purchased by US' GE Aviation in 2013.

The US claims that the commercial secrets, allegedly stolen by Korshunov, could have been used for developing different engines, including the PD-14 and the PD-35.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Washington's charges against Korshunov represent an attempt at dishonest competition. He has also warned that the arrest could further damage US-Russian relations.