KYIV – A European Union court in Luxembourg denied Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash the right to escape legal jurisdiction in Austria where he faces extradition to the U.S. on corruption charges.
The EU Court of Justice ruled on October 24 that his legal dispute, based on human rights and freedoms charters, doesn’t have cause. Mr. Firtash, 53, had attached his name to an existing case whereby three businessman were challenging whether they could be tried in the EU if the charges against them had originated in Switzerland, a non-EU state.
“The court today decided that the relevant Austrian rules are compatible with EU legislation,” the EU Court of Justice’s spokesperson told the TSN channel. “This means that since EU laws are enforced in this case, the Austrian Supreme Court is not obliged to repeat the hearings of the persons in question, and as a result the Austrian authorities can continue actions on crimes that are suspected to have been committed in Switzerland.”
Mr. Firtash’s lawyers also issued an exclusive statement to Interfax and Ukrainian News, the latter of which is owned by the businessman.
“The ruling of the European Court of Justice…does not alter the legal situation of our client Dmitry Firtash,” the statement read. “Following the decision of the Court of Justice of the EU, it is now expected that the petition of our client, pending before the Austrian Supreme Court, will commence…In conclusion, we remain strongly convinced of our client’s legal position and by the success of our appeal.”
The EU court ruling paves the way for the Austrian Supreme Court to hear Mr. Firtash’s appeal to challenge his extradition to the U.S. where a federal court in Chicago wants to try him. He is suspected of attempting to bribe Indian officials with $18.5 million to receive titanium production permits in a deal that involved aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing.
Mr. Firtash has vehemently denied the charges and has maintained his prosecution is an American political vendetta.
He made his fortune in the natural gas business by importing the blue fuel from Turkmenistan and Russia to Ukraine, often while monopolizing its supply to the country. He also moved into the nitrogen fertilizer by buying four plants in Ukraine that was mostly financed by Russian state-controlled banks.
After initially winning the first extradition case in Austria in 2015 after his arrest a year earlier, Mr. Firtash lost the appeal in February that was initiated by Austrian prosecutors. He subsequently challenged the ruling with the Supreme Court.
It in turn decided to wait for the EU Court of Justice’s ruling on Mr. Firtash’s case before considering the appeal.
If it rules against Mr. Firtash, the justice minister would have to sign off on the Supreme Court decision before the Ukrainian businessman’s extradition is final.
He has hired a top-flight legal team. It consists of former U.S. Attorney General Dan Webb, Lanny Davis and ex-U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff.