Russian intelligence agents arrested Vyacheslav Solovyov in a rare extradition operation in a Dubai shopping center on 5 Aug. He is the former chief executive of a state-run leasing company who fled Russia nearly a decade ago. Following his detention, Solovyov was taken to the Russian Embassy in Dubai and flown to Moscow the next day. The oligarch now faces charges of espionage, which carry a prison term of 10 to 20 years, as well as fraud. Russian security agencies had known Solovyov's whereabouts for more than a year. But extradition from the UAE is unusual, as the Gulf nation typically refuses to hand over fugitives wanted in Russia. Months of negotiations took place in the lead-up to the arrest. General Filatov, who oversaw the Dubai operation, heads the SVR's elite Zaslon unit, responsible for protecting top Russian officials during overseas visits and safeguarding key diplomatic missions.
Vyacheslav Solovyov led VEB-Leasing, a subsidiary of state-owned development bank Vnesheconombank (now VEB.RF), from 2008 to 2016. He abruptly stopped coming to work in March 2016, later telling colleagues he had traveled to Switzerland to seek medical treatment. He never returned to Russia. An audit of his company revealed $176.4 million was missing. Investigators in 2018 accused Solovyov and several senior executives of fraud, alleging they had signed contracts with affiliated companies on non-market terms, doubling the price of transport equipment and siphoning funds to offshore accounts. Oligarchic theft is par for the course in the Wild West of Russia. One can run from Vladimir Putin, but one can't hide from the ex-KGB officer with a long memory.
