GENEVA, June 18 (RIA Novosti, Ekaterina Andrianova). A verdict has already been reached by the Swiss Federal Court on the case involving former Atomic Energy Ministry chief Yevgeny Adamov, but will not yet be officially announced, according to a Federal Court spokesman.
"A verdict has already been reached," the spokesman said. "It will be sent to both parties today, and they will receive it tomorrow."
It is not clear when the decision will be made available to journalists.
The Federal Court in Lausanne, the highest court in Switzerland, has been assessing the legality of the arrest of the 66-year-old former minister on 2 May of this year in Bern at the request of the U.S. Justice Department.
At the beginning of June, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona deemed the arrest illegal and ordered Adamov's release from custody.
However, the Swiss Federal Justice Department, having approved Adamov's arrest at the request of the U.S., appealed against the decision to the Federal Court in Lausanne.
The Federal Court then ordered that Adamov remain in custody pending a decision on the appeal.
On June 17, Adamov's lawyers filed an appeal with the Bellinzona court against his second arrest following a Russian extradition request. No decision has yet been reached on this appeal.
"The Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona will reach a decision after the verdict from the Federal Court in Lausanne is known," Adamov's Swiss lawyer Stefan Wehrenberg said.
If both arrests of Adamov are deemed illegal, he will be released from custody. A decision on his extradition will be made by the Federal Justice Department, when it assesses which country's extradition request is more valid (U.S. or Russia).
The U.S. sent an official request to Switzerland for Adamov's extradition on June 24. U.S. authorities accuse Adamov and his business partner, U.S. citizen Mark Kaushansky, of embezzling $9 million paid to the Russian government by the U.S. for a nuclear security project. In the U.S., Adamov faces the possibility of 60 years in prison and a $1.75 million fine, and Kaushansky, 180 years in prison and a $5 million fine.
Russia filed its appeal for Adamov's extradition on May 17. The appeal was the result of an arrest order issued on May 14 by the Basman Interregional Court in Moscow. The Russian General Prosecutor's Office ruled against Adamov on charges of fraud and acting outside his authority.
Adamov, Minatom chief from 1998-2001, has already refused the simplified extradition procedure to both the U.S. and Russia. He denies all charges and declares his intention to return to Russia as a free citizen.
