Wanted Russian businessman stuck in Moldova after asylum and extradition rejected
A Russian businessman, wanted by authorities in Moscow for large-scale fraud, is currently in a legal predicament in the Republic of Moldova. He has been detained since 2024 after illegally entering the country and seeking political asylum. However, he has neither been granted refugee status nor extradited to the Russian Federation.
To unblock the situation, lawyer Vadim Vieru requested an opinion from the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ), which explained that the extradition examination can continue in parallel with the asylum procedure, but its execution is suspended until the refugee file is resolved.
“*The filing of the asylum application does not have the effect of suspending or postponing the resolution of the extradition request. The judge will make the decision on the extradition request even if the asylum application has not yet been resolved. However, the execution of the court's decision to accept the extradition request cannot proceed until the asylum application is resolved. If, subsequently, the asylum application is accepted, the extradition decision will not be executed,” the SCJ said.
From Russia to Ukraine and from the Republic of Moldova to France
Andrey Nemolyakin is accused in the Russian Federation of committing a fraud on a particularly large scale. He left Russia in 2014 and settled in Ukraine, where he lived using two different identities.
In June 2016, a Moscow court ordered his arrest in absentia, and he was subsequently put on international wanted list.
On August 12, 2024, Nemolyakin illegally entered the territory of the Republic of Moldova. A month later, on September 9, he tried to leave the country through the border crossing with Romania, intending to reach France to apply for political asylum.
Employees of the Border Police of the Republic of Moldova found several fake identity documents on Nemolyakin, issued in different names, including passports of citizens of the Russian Federation and Ukraine, as well as a driver's license with different initials.
As a result, a criminal case was initiated in the Republic of Moldova for the use of Nemolyakin's false official documents.
Asylum application rejected twice
Russian citizen Nemolyakin filed his first asylum application in the Republic of Moldova on the day he was detained, citing the risk of persecution, torture, and a lack of a fair trial in his home country.
The General Inspectorate for Migration (IGM) rejected his application on September 30. However, he appealed this decision in court.
On November 18, 2024, the Prosecutor General's Office notified the Chisinau District Court of an extradition request submitted by the Russian Federation, and the case was added to the court's docket. The first instance court ruled in favor of Nemolyakin on December 24, 2024, and ordered a reexamination of his case. However, on February 25, 2025, the Chisinau Court of Appeal overturned this decision, definitively upholding the rejection of his initial asylum application.
In response, Nemolyakin submitted a second asylum application, which the IGM rejected on March 12, 2025. He subsequently challenged this decision in court. A year later, on February 16, 2026, the Chisinau Court accepted his appeal, overturned the IGM's refusal, and ordered the institution to grant him refugee status.
As of now, the Supreme Court of Justice has no information on whether this latest decision has been challenged.
