Austrian court delays extradition of Ukrainian businessman Dmytro Firtash to US
The Austrian court has rejected the extradition to the U.S. of Ukrainian businessman Dmytro Firtash, who is suspected of corruption schemes, according to a report by Diepresse.
The decision was made by the Vienna Regional Court on November 7 but was only announced on December 4.
The court process has been lengthy, and although the prosecution intends to file an appeal by December 16, the extradition has not been carried out.
In 2014, Firtash was arrested in Vienna at the request of the U.S., but he was released on bail of €125 million. Until 2019, the businessman went through all instances of the Austrian judicial system, facing setbacks in his attempts to obtain immunity from extradition.
In July 2019, the Austrian Minister of Justice allowed Firtash to be handed over to U.S. authorities, but no extradition took place due to a request from the defense for a retrial of the case, which the District Criminal Judge of Vienna upheld.
The FBI has been investigating the "Firtash case" for nine years. The Ukrainian businessman is suspected of paying $18.5 million in bribes to Indian officials to obtain permits for titanium mining in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The titanium products were subsequently planned to be sold to Boeing, one of the world's largest aircraft manufacturers. He faces up to 50 years in prison and confiscation of assets.
In June of last year, the Austrian court issued a ruling in favor of Firtash in the case regarding the U.S. extradition request due to his involvement in corruption.
