General Prosecutor’s Office says Firtash’s imminent return to Ukraine unlikely

Ukraine’s deputy Prosecutor General’s Office chief Yevhen Yenin has said that the return of Dmytro Firtash to Ukraine is unlikely in the near future.

‘Today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow – this is unrealistic… The issue of Firtash’s return to Ukraine is not only a hypothetical question. It is today an unrealistic event,” Yenin said in an interview with the Insider edition published on Sept. 4.

Yenin said U.S. seeks Firtash’s extradition and there is an arrest warrant for Firtash issued in Spain.

“The way the process works is as follows: if one country’s request is turned down, the other country’s request is considered.” He refused to speculate about attempts to extradite Firtash from Austria.

“I had the opportunity to see the fat binders of documents turned over by American lawyers to Austria. And, of course, there is a political side to the case. If we consider the level of Firtash’s defense, it includes Austria’s former justice minister. Contacts here, as in most countries, play a very important role and are complicated,” he said.

Asked whether Ukraine plans on filing an extradition request for Firtash, Yenin replied, “I do not answer for the investigation regarding Firtash, but it seems to me that suspicions against heads of his companies are well grounded.”

Yenin confirmed Ukraine’s involvement in the money-laundering case against [Syrian businessman] Hares Youssef.

“We of course cooperate closely with our foreign partners. A Spanish delegation last year visited us… Several months ago we met with Spain’s prosecutor general and discussed further steps. We see progress over the last several months, and there are plans to take steps involving structures connected with Firtash,” Yenin said.

As earlier reported, Firtash was arrested in Vienna on March 12, 2014 at the request of U.S. law-enforcement agencies, who suspect him of bribing officials in India to secure sales of Titanium sponge to U.S. customers.

Firtash denies all wrongdoing.