Austria refused to extradite Ukrainian oligarch to US due to Belarusian diplomatic immunity
An Austrian court definitively refused to extradite Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash to the United States. The reason was his diplomatic immunity, obtained thanks to his status as a representative of Belarus, writes Reform.news.
Dmytro Firtash. Photo: AP Photo/Ronald Zak
The court in Vienna had been considering this case since 2014. In 2024, the Higher Regional Court ruled that extradition was impossible because, since 2021, Firtash has been listed as an advisor to the Permanent Mission of Belarus to international organizations in Vienna. In the same year, a note was sent to the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) informing them of his appointment as a representative of Belarus.
The Vienna Prosecutor's Office tried to appeal this decision, but the court gave it four weeks to file an appeal instead of the two weeks stipulated by law. Later, the Supreme Court ruled this extension of the deadline illegal, and as a result, the prosecutor's office missed the deadline for appealing.
The court's decision came into force in December 2025. Although the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNIDO did not grant Firtash official accreditation, the court believed that diplomatic notes sent by the Belarusian embassy in 2021 automatically granted him diplomatic immunity. The judge emphasized that the court is not obliged to follow the government's position due to the principle of separation of powers.
Firtash was detained in Austria in 2014 at the request of the United States but later released on bail. US authorities accuse him of bribing officials in India to obtain a permit for titanium raw material extraction. Since then, he has contested the possibility of his extradition.
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