Cyprus is to extradite a Russian citizen wanted by the United States on suspicion of internet fraud, after the country’s Supreme Court dismissed his final legal challenge against the move.
According to local media, the case of Serakhuddin Aktulaev, 40, has drawn international attention after the Supreme Court’s ruling last week, with media noting that the case has not gone unnoticed in Moscow.
Mr Aktulaev had asked the court to issue a writ of Habeas Corpus – a constitutional safeguard against arbitrary or unlawful detention – which, had it been granted, would have ended his detention in Cyprus and derailed the extradition process to the US.
The case is understood to be under close observation by Russian authorities, including its embassy in Cyprus, as well as by the state news agency TASS.
The US issued an international arrest warrant for Mr Aktulaev over suspected internet fraud. He was detained in Cyprus at the end of May 2025 while attending a relative’s wedding on the island.
On 11 May 2026, the Larnaca District Court approved a request for his extradition to the US, while he has remained in custody at Cyprus’s Central Prison. He subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court seeking a Habeas Corpus order, but the court rejected his appeal on Thursday, 16 July.
