Italy agrees to extradite Russian accused of fixing Olympic skating

AN ITALIAN court has agreed to extradite to the United States a Russian man accused of fixing figure skating events at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the Russian’s lawyer said yesterday.

The court in Venice ruled in favour of the extradition after a US grand jury last year charged Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov on five counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery related to sporting contests.

Tokhtakhounov's lawyer said the extradition would not be immediate and that his client would appeal the ruling. Tokhtakhounov is in custody in Venice, pending extradition.