Russian Extradited to US from Switzerland to Face Insider Trading Charges

A Russian businessman has been extradited from Switzerland to the United States to face charges of insider trading, the Swiss justice ministry said.

Vladislav Klyushin, who reportedly owns a media and cybersecurity business called M13 that is linked to the Kremlin, is accused of “involvement in a global scheme to trade on non-public information stolen from U.S. computer networks … between at least in or about January 2018 and September 2020,” according to a press release from the U.S. Justice Department.

According to the company’s website, its products were used by “the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation, federal ministries and departments, regional state executive bodies, commercial companies and public organizations.”

One of the stocks Klyushin traded using insider information was Tesla, the Justice Department said.

Russia said the move was another example of Washington going after Russians on the world stage.

“We are forced to state that we are dealing with another episode in Washington’s ongoing hunt for Russian citizens in third countries,” said Vladimir Khokhlov, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Switzerland, TASS reported.

Four other Russians are charged in the alleged scheme.

“The integrity of our nation’s capital markets and of its computer networks are priorities for my office,” acting U.S. Attorney Nathaniel Mendell said. “Today’s charges show that we, the FBI, and our other law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue those who hack, steal and attempt to profit from inside information, wherever they may hide.”

Source: VOA