Austrian Court Grants U.S. Bid to Extradite Ukraine's Firtash

[Ilsa]

An Austrian appeals court approved a U.S. request to extradite Dmitry Firtash on corruption charges, likely opening the way for the Ukrainian tycoon to be sent to the U.S. for trial.

Vienna’s Higher Regional Court overturned a 2015 lower-court ruling that had blocked the extradition. Tuesday’s ruling is not subject to further appeal, but the ultimate decision to hand him over to the U.S. lies with the Austrian Ministry of Justice.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-21/austrian-court-grants-u-s-bid-to-extradite-ukraine-s-firtash

[Wounded Bear]

1. Rachel Maddow did a good segment on this guy...

If the Repubs don't block the investigation, this guy could blow some lids off of the whole Russia mess. It's almost surprising that they granted the extradition, and more so that we still requested it.

[Ilsa]

2. Maybe the info on who he is hasn't caught up with

The AG yet, and maybe the WH hasn't been informed that he's on his way to the US.

[Wounded Bear]

3. Perhaps...

it is nice to know that somewhere, buried in the Justice department, there are operatives that still value the rule of law above all else.

[Ilsa]

5. And not just the rule of law, but real justice! nt

[jmg257]

4. Rut roh...the plot thickens...and the noose tightens...

But Manafort's ties to Firtash are extensively documented in court filings from an unrelated federal case in New York.

Manafort and business partners, including Firtash, in 2008 negotiated an $895 million deal to buy the site of the Drake Hotel in Manhattan, which they hoped to redevelop as a luxury mall and spa called Bulgari Tower. Memos of meetings that Manafort and Firtash attended in Kiev are included in the lawsuit, though the deal eventually fell apart.

While Firtash had yet to be indicted at that point, a diplomatic cable sent by U.S. ambassador to Ukraine William B. Taylor during the period in which Manafort and Firtash were negotiating, later leaked by Wikileaks, alleged Firtash had ties to Russian organized crime and described him as "one of Ukraine's most wealthy and notorious oligarchs."

Manafort's extensive ties to pro-Russian former President Ukrainian Viktor F. Yanukovych and to Ukrainian business leaders sympathetic to Moscow have become an issue in the presidential campaign, thanks to Trump's frequent statements of admiration for Putin, who Trump has described as "strong leader."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chicagoinc/ct-trump-manafort-firtash-0802-chicago-inc-20160801-story.html