Austrian Justice Minister Clemens Jabloner on July 16 approved the extradition of Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash to the United States, Deutsche Welle reported.
Firtash, who faces trial in Chicago on bribery charges, has been living in Austria since 2014, fighting extradition.
The Supreme Court of Austria allowed the extradition of Firtash on June 25.
However, the oligarch isn’t going to the U.S. yet. His lawyers have filed a motion for retrial.
The court will rule on the motion by July 22. If the motion is denied, the lawyers may file an appeal, according to the Austrian media.
Firtash was arrested in Vienna in March 2014 and released on $174 million bail on the condition that he stay in the country. He has been accused of bribing officials in India with $18.5 million for a permit to develop a titanium mine. He allegedly planned to sell titanium to Boeing, the American airplane manufacturing giant. Firtash has denied any wrongdoing.
The tycoon was once an ally of ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych and had business links to U.S. President Donald Trump’s ex-campaign manager, Paul Manafort. A construction deal Manafort pursued with Firtash failed.
Firtash still owns Group DF, a conglomerate that includes regional gas distribution companies, titanium and fertilizer plants in Ukraine. The group also controls several Ukrainian television channels, including one of the most watched stations, Inter.
On June 23, a Chicago judge refused to dismiss the charges against Firtash.
