Ukrainian businessman Dmytro Firtash arrested after extradition ruling

Source: The Guardian

Powerful in Ukraine, stranded in Austria for the past three years, and wanted by US authorities on bribery charges, Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash is no stranger to intrigue.

On Tuesday his case took yet another turn as a Vienna court ordered his extradition to the US and he was taken into custody on a European arrest warrant by Austrian police just hours later.

The prosecutors office said the arrest was not to do with the US warrant, but due to supplementary information received from Spanish authorities, raising the possibility the oligarch may be extradited to Spain rather than the US.


Firtash denies the bribery charges and has always argued they are politically motivated Washingtons way of removing him from the Ukrainian political playing field at a sensitive time. The case has taken on an extra dimension of geopolitical interest because the businessman is a one-time partner of Paul Manafort, formerly Donald Trumps campaign manager.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/21/austria-grants-us-request-to-extradite-ukrainian-mogul-dmytro-firtash