CNN) -- The process to extradite Joran van der Sloot from Peru to the United States to face criminal charges has begun, according to Maximo Altez, van der Sloot's Peruvian attorney.
Peruvian judges in January sentenced the Dutchman to 28 years in prison for the murder in 2010 of Stephany Flores. He is also the prime suspect in the disappearance of American Natalee Holloway. U.S. authorities want to try van der Sloot on charges of extortion and wire fraud in the Holloway case.
According to court documents obtained through Altez, a Peruvian judge has approved a U.S. request for provisional detention. This is the first step in the extradition process between Peru and the United States. The document says a formal extradition request has yet to be submitted, but will follow.
The document names the U.S. Embassy as a party in the proceedings. InSession reached out Monday for comment but did not receive a response. The Peruvian Justice Ministry also did not return a request for comment.
The only hold-up to the extradition is van der Sloot's appeal, which should be finished in about a month, Altez said.
"I think he will be extradited within the next three months," said Altez. "He will go to trial in the United States. Once he is sentenced, he will return to Peru to finish serving his 28 years, and then go back to the States to serve whatever sentence he gets there."
In June 2010, a federal grand jury in Alabama indicted him after allegations that he tried to extort $250,000 from Holloway's mother, Beth Holloway. Van der Sloot offered to provide what turned out to be bogus information about the whereabouts of Holloway's remains in exchange for the money, according to the indictment.
He was allegedly given $25,000, which authorities say he used to travel to Peru for a poker tournament.
If found guilty of extortion, he could be sentenced to 25 years in prison.
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