Court rejects Firtash extradition 

VIENNA – An Austrian court has rejected a U.S. request to extradite billionaire Ukrainian industrialist Dmytro Firtash to face corruption charges. Mr. Firtash denied accusations of bribery and money-laundering during the court hearing on April 30. He told the court in Vienna that allegations that he had conspired to bribe Indian government officials were “absolutely untrue.” A U.S. grand jury in 2013 indicted Mr. Firtash, along with a member of India’s Parliament and four others, on suspicion of bribing Indian government officials to gain access to minerals used to make titanium-based products. Mr. Firtash, 49, was arrested in Vienna a year ago at the request of U.S. authorities, who have been investigating him since 2006. He was released from detention in March 2014 after posting bail of 125 million euros ($140 million). Mr. Firtash’s legal team argued that the criminal case was politically motivated. The oligarch’s gas-trading and chemicals businesses flourished under Ukraine’s ousted pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Reuters, The New York Times and Interfax)