3 August 2016, 05:41 GMT
BANGKOK (Sputnik) – Born in 1974, Smolnikov is accused by the Russian authorities of bribing an official with a large amount of money. He has been wanted by Interpol since February 2016. Police arrested Smolnikov last month, in the Thai southern province of Songkhla.
"Smolnikov has been deported from Thailand and has left for Moscow on an Aeroflot flight at 10 in the morning, accompanied by members of the Russian National Central Bureau of Interpol," Sosnov said on Friday.
According to media reports, Smolnikov was a city council member from the United Russia party, who was expelled from the party in February 2016 in connection with the criminal case on embezzlement and bribery.
