Former Russian nuclear minister Yevgeny Adamov will remain in custody in Switzerland pending a decision on his extradition, Switzerland's supreme court said Tuesday.

In a ruling made public on Tuesday, the Federal Court rejected an appeal from Adamov, whose lawyers had called his detention a violation of his immunity as a former government official.

The Federal Court, located in Lausanne, upheld an appeal by the Swiss government against a criminal court ruling that he be freed.

Adamov was arrested in the Swiss capital of Bern on May 2 on a warrant from the United States. The US has accused him of embezzling 9 million US dollars destined for nuclear-safety upgrades in Russia, and wanted him extradited to face fraud charges.

"Adamov stays in custody," spokesman Igor Petrov said after the Russian embassy in Bern received the ruling of the Federal Court.

"The whole extradition procedure will be continued. Then the main work will be in the hands of the Swiss justice ministry," he added.

Adamov was Russia's atomic energy minister from 1998 to 2001, when a parliamentary commission accused him of corruption.

Source: Xinhua