The Russian Embassy in Kazakhstan takes measures to protect the rights of Kislitsyn

Kazakhstan informed the Russian embassy in the republic about the detention of FACCT (former Group-IB in Russia and the CIS) employee Nikita Kislitsyn, the agency is taking measures to protect his rights. This was reported to Vedomosti at the diplomatic mission.

The embassy noted that the Kazakh side informed about the detention of Kislitsyn in a timely manner.

“The Embassy and the Consulate General of Russia in the city of Alma-Ata are taking all necessary measures to protect the legal rights of the Russian,” the agency stressed.

Formerly Deputy Prosecutor General of Kazakhstan Ulan Baizhanov declaredthat a Russian extradition request for Kislitsyn would take precedence over an American request because of his citizenship.

Kislitsyn was detained June 22 in Kazakhstan in connection with the US request. According to FACCT, the US claims against him are not related to his work in the company, but to “a case more than 10 years ago, when Nikita worked as a journalist and independent researcher.”

On June 28, the Tverskoy Court of Moscow also announced Kislitsyn on the wanted list under Part 3 of Art. 272 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (illegal access to legally protected information using official position). Later, the court granted the petition of the investigation for the arrest of Kislitsyn in absentia. As a source familiar with the circumstances of the case noted in a conversation with Vedomosti, the Russian side could initiate a criminal case at home in order to extradite Kislitsyn not to the United States, but to Russia, there is already a precedent for this.

In 2020 US authorities accused Kislitsyn, who was at the time a top manager of Group-IB, in a conspiracy to sell data that his accomplice stole from the Formspring social network in 2012. The company then called the allegations unsubstantiated and noted that the alleged crimes occurred before Kislitsyn worked at the Group -IB.