Russia refuses to put ex-prosecutor on Interpol wanted list

Russia has rejected an Interpol request to put Alexander Ignatenko, a former Moscow Region first deputy prosecutor accused of protecting a vast underground casino ring, on the international wanted list. Moscow Region prosecutor Alexander Mokhov, his deputy Alexander Ignatenko, legal proceedings chief Dmitry Urumov and two city prosecutors were fired in late April for breaching an oath of office by reportedly hushing up the illegal gambling operations. Security officials described a vast illegal gambling empire that brought Nazarenko upwards of $10 million a month, claiming they had uncovered over 1,200 slot machines and documents for 60 fake firms to cover up the activity. "Ignatenko has not been put on the international wanted list as the Prosecutor General's Office refused to demand his arrest and extradition if he is found in other countries," the Russian bureau of Interpol's press service said. Business daily Kommersant said that on August 31 the Prosecutor General's Office sent a letter to Alexander Prokopchuk, deputy head of Interpol's Russian bureau, in which it said that the charges against the ex-prosecutor "lack evidence". In a crackdown in February, illegal casino owner Ivan Nazarov, his assistants, and three policemen who guarded the illegal business were accused of fraud, and remanded until August 15 pending investigation. The case has sparked a high-profile conflict between the Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor General's Office.