The prime suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba will be extradited to the US

Officials in Peru, where Joran van der Sloot has been serving time for murder, said that the main suspect in the 2005 disappearance of the deceased American teen Natalee Holloway will be extradited to the US to face extortion and fraud charges.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Justice and Human Rights Minister Daniel Maurate Romero said Peru “decided to agree to the request for temporary surrender… (of van der Sloot)… for his prosecution in the United States for the alleged commission of the crimes of extortion and fraud” against Holloway’s mother.

Following the conclusion of the US legal processes against him, Van der Sloot will be sent back to Peru, according to the country’s judiciary.

“The requesting country must keep the defendant in custody during the entire (duration of) proceedings in its territory,” the Peruvian judiciary declared on social media. “Once the criminal proceedings against (van der Sloot) conclude, he will immediately be returned to the Peruvian authorities.”

Van der Sloot received a 28-year prison term after being found guilty in 2012 of killing 21-year-old Stephany Flores in a hotel room in Lima.

The Dutch national also was among the last to see Holloway alive 13 years ago in Aruba. He has been indicted in the US on federal counts of extortion and wire fraud in connection with a conspiracy to sell information about the whereabouts of her remains in exchange for $250,000, officials said.

The missing 18-year-old’s mother, Beth Holloway, sent $15,000 to a bank account van der Sloot controlled in the Netherlands and through an attorney paid him another $10,000 in person, the accusation claims. Van der Sloot allegedly showed John Kelly, the lawyer, where Natalee Holloway’s alleged remains were hidden after receiving the initial $25,000, but the information turned out to be false, according to the indictment.

Van der Sloot’s indictment demands that he forfeit $25,100, including $100. Beth Holloway initially transferred to van der Sloot to validate his account.

Holloway was last seen in the early hours of May 30, 2005, leaving a nightclub in Aruba with van der Sloot and two other males. She vanished without a trace, and her body has never been located. In 2012, a judge in Alabama issued an order deeming Holloway legally dead.

According to George Seymore, CEO of Patriot Strategies, who represents the Holloway family, van der Sloot’s extradition from Peru to the US is scheduled to start on Thursday. The US Department of Justice, the US State Department, and the governor of Holloway’s home state of Alabama have all been contacted by CNN for comment.

News of van der Sloot’s planned arrival in the US gave long-awaited solace to Holloway’s family.

Natalee Holloway, then 18 years old, left Birmingham for Aruba in May 2005 to attend her high school graduation trip, and she was never heard from again, according to a family statement made public on Wednesday.

“I was blessed to have had Natalee in my life for 18 years, and as of this month, I have been without her for exactly 18 years,” the statement said. “She would be 36 years old now. Although the journey has been extremely difficult and drawn out, many people’s perseverance will eventually pay off. Together, we are securing Natalee’s justice at last.

Peru has an extradition pact with the US and earlier had agreed to deport van der Sloot only when he finished completing the murder sentence, the Peruvian news agency Andina reported, meaning US officials may have had to wait until 2038.

Beth Holloway thanked the newly elected president of Peru and all of his backers.

“I want to express my sincere gratitude to President Dina Boluarte, the President of Peru, the warm people of Peru, the family of Stephany Flores, the FBI in Miami, Florida and in Birmingham, Alabama, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Birmingham, the U.S. Embassy in Peru and the Peruvian Embassy in the US, my longtime attorney John Q. Kelly who has worked tirelessly on this case, and George Seymore and Marc Wachtenheim of Patriot Strategies,” the mother said.