The ex-minister, accused of multi-million dollar fraud by both Russia and the United States, was taken to Moscow early this morning under police escort and held at the Matrosskaya Tishina prison, the federal prison service said.

Adamov was told of the charges and his continued detention in the presence of his lawyer, a spokesman for the state prosecutor said, according to Itar-Tass.

The lawyer had earlier said that Adamov would ask to be released.

On Thursday, Switzerland's Federal Tribunal ruled in favour of handing Adamov back to Russia, where he stands accused of skimming 17 million dollars (14.4 million euros) from the state while he was atomic energy minister between 1998 and 2001.

Washington expressed disappointment as it too wants to try Adamov on charges of fraud and money laundering in connection with nine million dollars (7.6 million euros) sent by the US government to help Russia improve its nuclear safety after the break-up of the Soviet Union.

The former minister was arrested in Switzerland in May at the behest of US prosecutors.

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