Government grants extradition to the United States of Russian national Denis Klimenkov

The national Government granted the extradition to the United States of the Russian citizen Denis Klimenkov, who also identifies as Denis Alimov, requested to appear at trial for murder, kidnapping, terrorism, and conspiracy. The decision was recorded in Executive Resolution number 444 of 2026, signed by the President of the Republic and by the Minister of Justice and Law, Iván Alfonso Cancino González, and published in the Official Gazette number 53,645 on October 1, 2026.

The process was carried out based on Article 491 of Law 906 of 2004, which empowers the Government to decide on extradition requests, and Article 494 of the same law, which establishes the protection conditions for the surrendered person. The request for provisional detention arrived via Note Verbale number 0273 of February 27, 2026, sent by the Government of the United States through its embassy in Colombia; the Deputy Attorney General of the Nation, with assigned functions from the office of the Attorney General of the Nation, decreed the arrest for extradition purposes by resolution on February 27, 2026. The requested individual had been detained on February 24, 2026, by members of the International Investigations Group of the Criminal Investigation Directorate and Interpol of the National Police, and the request was formalized with Note Verbale number 0597 of April 16, 2026.

Favorable Opinion of the Supreme Court

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Directorate of International Legal Affairs, opined that it was appropriate to proceed according to the Colombian criminal procedural system via official letter DIAJI number 1670 of April 20, 2026. The Ministry of Justice and Law then forwarded the file to the Criminal Cassation Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice with official letter MJD-OFI26-0023164-GEX-10100 of May 14, 2026, clarified by official letter MJD-OFI26-0025493 GEX-10100 of May 26, 2026.

The Criminal Cassation Chamber, through a pronouncement on August 26, 2026, found the legal requirements to be met and issued a favorable opinion for the extradition. The resolution specifies that the Russian citizen is not requested by any Colombian judicial authority and that his arrest is solely due to the extradition process; he is identified by passport number 667263172, issued in the Russian Federation.

The Five Charges in the Southern District of New York

The requested individual is the subject of a Second Superseding Indictment issued on February 26, 2026, in Case number S2 25 Cr. 122 (JPC) by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The imputed charges are:

• Count One: conspiracy to commit homicide and kidnapping in a foreign country.
• Count Two: conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.
• Count Three: providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists.
• Count Four: conspiracy to finance terrorism.
• Count Five: financing terrorism.

According to the indictment, on October 17, 2024, at a restaurant near the headquarters of the national security and counterintelligence service of a foreign country, Denis Alimov paid an accomplice, Darko Durovic, approximately 60,000 dollars to finance a plot intended to commit the homicide or kidnapping of two dissidents, and agreed to pay him around 1.5 million dollars for each of the targets. Durovic recruited another accomplice and received IP addresses and phone number data from one of the victims.

Conditions of Delivery and Guarantees

The delivery to the requesting State was conditioned upon the commitment that the extradited person will not be subjected to forced disappearance, torture, or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, nor to penalties of banishment, life imprisonment, or confiscation, pursuant to Article 494 of Law 906 of 2004. It was also warned that he may not be tried for a crime other than that which motivated the extradition nor sanctioned in a different manner.

The resolution further orders:

• To recognize for the requested party the time spent detained due to the proceedings, a certification of which may be requested from the Attorney General’s Office.
• To guarantee an interpreter and officially translate the decision into the Russian language prior to personal notification.
• To inform the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Colombia of the decision, as he is a national of that country.
• To send a copy, once final, to the Directorate of International Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of the Russian Federation, and the Attorney General of the Nation.

A motion for reconsideration may be filed against the decision, which can be submitted in writing during the notification proceeding or within the following ten days.

The case gains relevance as it involves a Russian citizen claimed by the United States for acts classified as terrorism, in a file that combines the favorable opinion of the Supreme Court of Justice with the discretionary power of the national Government. The resolution also sets a precedent regarding the guarantees required from the requesting country and the obligation to inform the Russian Federation before completing the delivery.

Source: Official Gazette, number 53,645 of October 1, 2026, section I (Ministry of Justice and Law), p. 7 (official reference: Executive Resolution number 444 of 2026).