Islam Seinaroyev and his accomplices are believed to have stolen around $24.5 million from the state

The Turkish authorities have detained a former high-ranking official of the Russian Social Fund (SFR) who is wanted in his home country on suspicion of large-scale embezzlement, the RTVI broadcaster has reported.

Investigators believe Islam Seinaroyev, who headed the SFR's branch in Russia's Republic of Ingushetia from 2012, was among the leaders of a criminal group which stole more than 2 billion rubles (around $24.5 million) in state money between 2019 and 2021 by illegally recalculating pensions without informing residents.

Sources told RTVI on Monday that Seinaroyev had been detained in the Turkish port and resort city of Antalya on the country's Mediterranean coast. He did not resist arrest, the source added.

The Turkish authorities are now preparing to extradite the former official to Russia, according to the broadcaster.

The sources claimed that Seinaroyev had "felt completely safe" in Türkiye, where he engaged in business activities such as wholesale supplies of strawberries and bananas, and renting out his real estate.

A Moscow court issued an arrest warrant for Seinaroyev in October 2023 after he fled abroad.

Another alleged key figure in the fraud scheme that involved around 40 people - the former head of the Russian Post branch in the republic, Magomed-Bashir Kalimatov - has been in custody in Russia since May 2024. Kalimatov faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of embezzlement and organization of a criminal group.

Russia and Türkiye signed a deal on mutual legal assistance in criminal cases and extradition in 2014, with Moscow ratifying it three years later. Last year, Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov said the law enforcement agencies of the two nations have "established productive working relations," stressing that Ankara "has begun actively extraditing persons" wanted by Russia.

(RT.com)