Report: Z-Library admins on the lam ahead of US extradition; officials shocked

Two Russian citizens arrested for running the pirate e-book site Z-Library have reportedly escaped house arrest in Argentina and vanished after a court approved their extradition to the United States.

Accused by the US of criminal copyright infringement, wire fraud, and money laundering, Anton Napolsky and Valeriia Ermakova were arrested in 2022. Until last May, they were being detained in Argentina while a court mulled the Department of Justice's extradition request, and the US quickly moved to seize Z-Library domains.

But according to a translated article from a local publication called La Voz, the pair suddenly disappeared after submitting a request "to be considered political refugees" in order to "avoid being sent to the US." Napolsky and Ermakova had long denied wrongdoing, and apparently they "ran away" after giving up on the legal process. They reportedly even stopped talking to their defense lawyer.