Austrian court finally rejects US request for Firtash extradition – media
The Higher Regional Court of Vienna (Das Oberlandesgericht Wien, OLG) has confirmed as final the decision of a lower court that refused to extradite Ukrainian businessman Dmytro Firtash to the United States after many years of court hearings that began in 2014 with a record bail of EUR 125 million.
As reported by the Austrian Der Standart on Wednesday, the OLG rejected as inadmissible the appeal of the Vienna Prosecutor's Office against the decision of the Vienna Regional Court of November 4, 2024.
Back in October, Austrian media reported on the high probability of this development of events, because the appeal of the state prosecutor was filed after the expiration of the usual appeal period.
As reported, Firtash, the chairman of the board of Group DF, was arrested in Austria on March 12, 2014, at the request of the U.S. authorities, issued in 2013, but was later released on bail of EUR 125 million. During the U.S. administration of Barack Obama, the Ukrainian businessman was accused of using bribes totaling $18.5 million to obtain permits for the extraction of titanium raw materials in India for the subsequent sale of finished products in the U.S. to Boeing. Firtash rejects all charges and calls them politically motivated, aimed at limiting his influence on the processes in Ukraine.
In April 2015, the OG rejected the U.S. Department of Justice's request for Firtash's extradition, emphasizing the impossibility of excluding political motives in the extradition request. However, in February 2017, the OLG reviewed this decision upon appeal by the prosecutor's office, and in June 2019, the Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) confirmed the legality of the extradition.
The Austrian Ministry of Justice then issued a corresponding extradition order, but the process was suspended in July 2019 due to the Ukrainian businessman's defense's request to the OG for a new hearing taking into account the additional evidence collected. According to Kurier, the OG's decision was delayed due to the large number of documents submitted, communication problems due to the coronavirus, and a change of judges.
In March 2022, Firtash's lawyers announced that they had filed an appeal with the OLG against the OG's decision to reject the request for a retrial of the businessman's extradition to the United States, and in June 2023, the OLG issued a decision to review the extradition case and return it to the court of first instance.
Ukraine imposed sanctions on Firtash in 2021 over allegations of supplying titanium to Russian arms manufacturers, while the UK imposed sanctions on the businessman, his wife and financier Denys Gorbunenko in 2024. The UK said Firtash was or is involved in serious corruption, including bribing government officials to obtain mining licenses and misappropriating property from Ukraine’s gas transmission network. Firtash called the sanctions groundless, politically motivated and contrary to the rule of law.