A Russian fugitive who has evaded extradition from Scotland believes he will be “harmed” for fleeing his country.

It emerged on Wednesday that Russian officials have abandoned efforts to force the handover of Alexander Shapovalov, 58, a former general director of the Institute of Applied Chemistry (IAC) in St Petersburg.

Shapovalov enjoyed top-level security clearance and was privy to intelligence relating to defence and chemical weapons but became an enemy of “the system” — as Shapovalov refers to the Russian state — when he blew the whistle on alleged malpractice. Shapovalov was in turn accused of fraud by powerful figures close to Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. Faced with a lengthy jail term, he fled to the Highlands in 2015.

Speaking from his home in