An Austrian court has ruled in favor of Ukrainian businessman Dmytro Firtash, sending his case back to the beginning as the United States looks to have him extradited to face corruption charges.
The Higher Regional Court in Vienna on June 16 said it concluded that new facts and evidence in the case had raised concerns over a February 2017 court decision to extradite Firtash to the United States, adding that the case must be sent for retrial to find out if the new information is true and is sufficient enough to block his extradition.
Firtash, once a powerful ally of Ukraine's ousted, Russia-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych, faces a U.S. indictment accusing him of conspiracy to pay bribes in India to mine titanium, which is used in jet engines.
He denies any wrongdoing.
Firtash was arrested in Austria in 2014 and then freed on 125 million-euro ($136 million) bail, kicking off a still-unresolved legal saga.
A Vienna court initially ruled against extradition on the grounds that the indictment was politically motivated, but in February 2017, a higher court overruled the decision and concluded that Firtash must be extradited.
Last month, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) said Firtash, along with managers of companies under his control, had been served with "notices of suspicion" of embezzlement.
According to the SBU, the damage the State Treasury suffered from the embezzlement activities allegedly committed by Firtash's group in Ukraine's gas-transit system are estimated at up to 18 billion hryvnyas ($484 million) between 2016 and 2022 as part of a "large-scale scheme."
Ukraine has sought to reduce the political influence that some businessmen have enjoyed since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The European Union has also made tackling corruption a priority for Kyiv as it tries to join the bloc.
In June 2021, Kyiv imposed sanctions on Firtash, accusing him of selling titanium products that Ukraine said ended up being used by Russian military enterprises. Firtash denied the allegations at the time.
