Austria's Constitutional Court has refused to consider an appeal by Ukrainian businessman Dmytro Firtash in an attempt to fight his extradition to the United States, where he is wanted on corruption charges.
Firtash had petitioned the court to recognize the U.S.-Austrian extradition agreement as unconstitutional.
The court's rejection of his case, reported by Deutsche Welle on August 19, allows an appeal by the Vienna prosecutor's office of a court ruling prohibiting Firtash from being extradited to the United States to be considered.
U.S. officials are seeking Firtash's extradition in the case of some $18.5 million in bribes being paid for a permit to mine titanium in India.
Firtash, 51, is a co-owner along with Gazprom of RosUkrEnergo, a Swiss-registered company that exports natural gas from Turkmenistan to Eastern Europe.
He also controls a large part of the titanium business in Ukraine and is one of that country's richest men.
Austrian officials arrested Firtash at the request of U.S. law enforcement agencies in March 2014.
He was released from detention shortly afterwards when he posted bail of 125 million euros ($172 million), a record amount in Austria.
Firtash rejects the charges against him as "absurd and unfounded."
Austrian High Court Rejects Ukrainian Firtash's Extradition Appeal
Related
Editors' Picks
Top Trending
1
What North Korean Troops In Russia Mean For Beijing
2Israel's Attack On Iran Has Left Tehran Offensively And Defensively Weaker
314 Dead In Roof Collapse At Railway Station In Serbia's Novi Sad
4North Korean Troops Are 'Fair Game' In Russia's War Against Ukraine
5Harris Or Trump: What Will It Mean For Ukraine?
6'They Stole Your Vote,' Georgian President Says, As Tens Of Thousands Rally To Protest Elections
7Ukraine Live Briefing: Moscow, Kyiv Trade Air Strikes
8U.S. 'Political Assistant' At Hungary’s Washington Embassy Wielded Torch At Deadly White-Supremacist Rally
9What Moldova And Georgia Showed Us About Pushback Against Russian Influence
102 Arrested As Georgian Authorities Open 47 Election Fraud Cases
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.
