Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash was not extradited to the United States because he had the status of a Belarusian diplomat.

This is reported by the Austrian media APA, citing sources, reports Wien, informs Censor.NET.

Diplomatic immunity 

It is noted that Firtash “enjoys immunity as an advisor to the Permanent Mission of Belarus to UNIDO in Vienna, and therefore his extradition to the United States is inadmissible.”

“This is stated in the decision of the Vienna Regional Court dated November 4, 2024, which entered into force on Tuesday, and which was provided to the ARA in an anonymized form. The Austrian Foreign Ministry, however, did not consider Firtash to be a diplomat, and nothing is known about any of his diplomatic activities,” the material says.

The material also states that seven years after the start of the extradition procedure for Firtash to the United States, the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Belarus to the UN in Vienna declared him a diplomat in 2021. Corresponding notes were sent in June and July 2021 to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), as well as to the Austrian Foreign Ministry.

UNIDO and the Austrian Foreign Ministry refused accreditation 

However, UNIDO and the Austrian Foreign Ministry denied Firtash official accreditation, and he was not issued with diplomatic credentials, according to the ARA. The Austrian Foreign Ministry explained in October 2023 that there was no obligation under the UNIDO headquarters agreement to grant privileges and immunities to individuals whom the organization did not consider to be properly accredited. The department also saw legal obstacles due to Firtash’s activities in Austria aimed at personal gain and the possible abuse of privileges and immunities.

Despite this position of the Austrian Foreign Ministry, the Vienna Regional Court concluded in February 2024 that Firtash enjoyed absolute diplomatic immunity from the moment the notes were sent.

“The court, having examined the legal situation, also proceeds from the fact that the Republic of Austria as a host state has no influence on the existence of this immunity,” the decision said.

According to the agency, the judge was not convinced by the argument of the Foreign Ministry’s international law department that such a legal position “will soon turn Austria into a favorite international haven for millionaire fraudsters, bank robbers, mafia and drug lords, tax evaders or other individuals.”

The court’s decision states that in the event of concerns of the host state about a specific representative of another member state, the latter should be asked to waive the immunity of this representative, and ultimately it may even be possible to obtain his departure from the territory of the host state, while respecting his personal immunity.

“In the Firtash case, the court previously asked the Austrian Ministry of Justice to find out whether the Foreign Ministry wanted to waive his immunity in connection with the ongoing extradition procedure. However, the Austrian Foreign Ministry refused to make such a request because, in its opinion, Firtash was not properly accredited to UNIDO,” the publication writes.

It is unclear what exactly Firtash’s diplomatic activities consisted of. 

At the same time, the court decision does not clarify what exactly Firtash’s diplomatic activities were since 2021.

The oligarch’s lawyer, Rüdiger Schender, and his Austrian spokesman, Daniel Kapp, refused to comment on this information at the request of the ARA.

In turn, a spokesman for the Belarusian embassy told the agency that he did not know Firtash and could not help with this issue.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry said it had taken note of the decision of the Vienna Regional Court and was currently studying the implications.

The court’s decision also states that Belarus can revoke Firtash’s diplomatic immunity at any time, at which point the extradition issue can be reconsidered.

The publication also points out that according to Belarusian law, only Belarusian citizens without any other citizenship can be diplomats. At the same time, Firtash continues to be listed as a citizen of Ukraine.

“Even the wives/husbands of diplomats cannot have another citizenship. As for Firtash himself, it is not known that he renounced Ukrainian citizenship. In official Ukrainian databases, he is still listed as a citizen of Ukraine,” the material says.

For reference:

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization is a specialized agency of the UN whose mission is to promote and accelerate comprehensive and sustainable industrial development in its member states. 

• It was previously reported that Austrian courts have finally blocked the US request for the extradition of Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash after more than ten years of court hearings. Джерело: https://censor.net/ua/n3590431

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