A Russian governor’s son who busted out of house arrest in Italy to avoid extradition to the U.S. is now back on Russian soil after he says “strong and reliable” people assisted in his escape. Artyom Uss announced the news to the state-run RIA Novosti on Tuesday, saying: “I’m in Russia! Over these especially dramatic few days, strong and reliable people were by my side.” Uss said he was “forced” to flee after he became convinced he wouldn’t get a fair shake through the Italian court system. “The Italian court, on whose impartiality I had initially counted, demonstrated its clear political bias. Unfortunately, even it is ready to bend under pressure from the U.S. authorities,” Uss told RIA Novosti. His father, Krasnoyarsk Gov. Alexander Uss, confirmed his son’s return through the region’s press service. Italian investigators had previously said they believed Russia’s security services helped orchestrate Uss’ escape from the country. His jailbreak came just days after a court ruled in favor of extraditing him to the U.S., where he faced up to 30 years in prison on charges of violating sanctions and money laundering.
