Russia has issued a stark warning to its citizens, advising them against travel to countries with extradition treaties with the United States.
In a travel advisory on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry stated that “the intensity of Washington’s punitive justice” has increased since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It cautioned that individuals risk lengthy prison sentences if extradited to the US.
“With numerous extraterritorial sanctions targeting strategic segments of the domestic economy, many Russians, without even realising it, risk finding themselves in the crosshairs of American law enforcement and intelligence agencies,” the ministry said.
It said, without providing evidence or examples, that “U.S. intelligence agencies often engage in fraudulent schemes to lure Russian citizens abroad with lucrative commercial or tourist offers”.
Russians were sometimes detained immediately on arrival in a third country, the statement said. The travel warning applies to Russians “who have reasonable grounds to believe they may be subject to criminal prosecution by U.S. authorities”, or those appearing on U.S. sanctions lists.
Among the countries most likely to extradite Russians to the U.S., the ministry named Britain, Switzerland, most EU members, Canada, Australia, Israel, much of Latin America, Liberia, Morocco and a number of Asian states.
Russia said more than 100 of its nationals had been transferred to the U.S. in this way since arms dealer Viktor Bout was arrested in Thailand in 2008.
Bout spent 14 years in prison in the U.S. for arms trafficking, money laundering and conspiring to kill Americans. He was freed in 2022 in exchange for Brittney Griner, a U.S. basketball star who was imprisoned in Russia for bringing cannabis vape oil into the country.