The top European Union court has declined Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash's bid to avoid trial in Austria, paving the way for that country's supreme court to hear his case as initially planned. Firtash has been in Austria since authorities arrested him in Vienna in 2014 and faces extradition to the United States.
If the Austrian Supreme Court rules for his extradition, a final decision will then be made by the country's justice minister.
A former business partner of President Donald Trump's ex-campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and one of Ukraine's wealthiest men, Firtash has been charged in a U.S. federal court in Chicago, as part of an alleged bribery scheme involving titanium supplies for aircraft giant Boeing.
His case has seen several twists, including being rearrested in Vienna on a Spanish warrant in February 2017, just minutes after an Austrian court cleared the way for his U.S. extradition.
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[Firtash's] lead U.S. lawyer, former federal prosecutor Dan Webb, told the Chicago federal court earlier this month that it was believed "that the Austrian Supreme Court will move quickly and Mr. Firtash could face extradition in a short time frame following the decision by the Court of Justice.”
Firtash, who has denied the charges, has been out on bail since shortly after his arrest, but barred from leaving Austria. His lawyers had argued that the U.S. prosecution was politically motivated.
Firtash’s wealth stems in large part from the lucrative natural gas trade in Ukraine, whose pipelines have long served as the key conduit for Russian gas supplies heading to Western Europe.
He is also considered an important financier of the Party of Regions political party, and was involved in hiring Manafort, then a U.S. political consultant and lobbyist, in 2005 to help rebuild the party after its then-leader, Viktor Yanukovych, was defeated for the presidency by Viktor Yushchenko following the 2004 Orange Revolution.
Firtash also had a brief partnership with Manafort in 2008 to invest in New York City real estate, although that deal never materialized.
The Ternopil Oblast native 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 were mostly financed by Russian state-controlled banks. Firtash also controls a majority of Ukraine’s regional gas distribution companies and is the co-owner of Inter, an influential television channel with pro-Russian content.
After initially winning the first extradition case in Austria in 2015 after his arrest a year earlier, 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 in December 2017 to wait for the EU Court of Justice’s ruling on Firtash before considering the appeal.
Should it rule against 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.
Lanny Davis also represents Trump's longtime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen.
Top EU Court Rejects Extradition Appeal By Ukrainian Oligarch Firtash (Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty)
Austrian Supreme Court to consider Firtash extradition after EU court ruling (Kyiv Post)