On 29 December 2005, the Washington Post reported that Yevgeny Adamov, the former head of Minatom – the Russian nuclear ministry – will be sent back to Russia, reversing an earlier decision to send him to the United States to face trial for conspiracy, money laudering and tax evasion. The charges stem from accusations that he diverted about $9 million in US funds designated for safety upgrades in RBMK (Chernobyl-style graphite-moderated, water-cooled reactors) into bank accounts that he personally controlled. The article can be found at Swiss Court Extradites Former Nuclear Head Back to Russia
In Russia, Adamov faces charges of fraud and abuse of office for actions taken as head of Minatom. He was fired from that job in March 2001. Some press reports accused him and other leaders of the agency that he headed of diverting funds for personal use and of agreeing to foreign nuclear supply deals that were money losing projects with below market loans, barter repayments, and below market equipment prices. One such article was published by Bellona under the title of Adamov sacked for unprofitable proliferation.
Adamov was arrested by the Swiss based on a warrant issued by the US, but Russia was quicker to file the necessary paperwork to request his extradition after the arrest.
The case has been the subject of intensive diplomatic negotiation; the Russian government made the case to the Swiss courts that sending Adamov to the United States could expose Russian secrets – apparently of a commerical nature – related to Minatom’s projects in China, India, and Iran. American prosecutors made the case that they needed first crack at Adamov because once he was sent to Russia, he could not be extradited to the US to face charges here, since he is a Russian citizen.
According to a brief mention on a Bulgarian newspaper web site, Adamov arrived in Russia on 30 December 2005.
