President Vladimir Putin has submitted an extradition agreement between Russia and Panama to the State Duma for ratification, the Meduza news website reported on Tuesday, citing the Duma's official website.
The agreement — signed on April 25, 2015 in Panama — states that both countries are committed to extraditing citizens for the purposes of criminal prosecution.
“The agreement will work toward the improvement of international law through cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Panama by means of extraditing criminals to pay for the crimes they have committed,” the Duma's website stated.
The agreement has been submitted to the Duma in the midst of an international scandal involving the Central American country. Several million documents were leaked from the Mossack Fonseca Panamanian legal firm, which contained data on offshore accounts.
The data implicated a number of international leaders, as well as close associates of President Vladimir Putin.
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