BANGKOK (Sputnik) – Thai police arrested Interpol-wanted Russian national Vasily Smolnikov, the head of the consular section of the Russian Embassy in Bangkok, Vladimir Sosnov, said Tuesday.
"Vasily Smolnikov, born in 1974, was detained in the Thai province of Songkhla. He has been internationally wanted by Interpol since February 2016, after the decision by the Chernogorsk Municipal Court of the [Russian] Republic of Khakassia on his detention," Sosnov told RIA Novosti.
Smolnikov is accused by the Russian authorities of bribing an official with a large amount of money, according to the diplomat.
"In the near future, V. Smolnikov will be handed over to Russia's Interpol National Central Bureau and deported to Moscow, escorted by Russian police officers," Sosnov added.
According to media reports, Smolnikov was a city council member from the United Russia party, who was expelled from the party in February 2016 in connection with the criminal case on embezzlement and bribery.
