Italian premier vows to clear up ‘anomalies' in Russian businessman’s escape

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Saturday that her government would clear up "anomalies" concerning a Russian businessman's escape from house arrest last month.

Artem Uss, 40, broke an electronic tag and went on the run near Milan on March 22, one day after a court agreed to hand him over to the US for alleged arms smuggling.

Meloni said she supported Justice Minister Carlo Nordio's decision to send inspectors to see why Uss, the son of a Siberian governor close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, had been moved from pretrial custody in prison to house arrest, according to Italian state-run ANSA news agency.

"The fact is certainly quite serious, I will speak with minister Nordio when I get back to understand how things went, there are certainly anomalies," she said at a news conference after her trip to Ethiopia.

"I believe the main anomaly is the appeals court's decision to keep him under house arrest for questionable reasons and to maintain the decision even after there had been a ruling (in favor of) his extradition," she said.

Meloni added that she thinks Nordio was right to start disciplinary action and therefore her government will have to "clear things up."