Dmytro Firtash

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Dmytro Firtasch 2010
Cyrillic ( Ukrainian )
Дмитро Васильович Фірташ
Transl. : Dmytro Vasyl'ovyč Firtaš
Transcr. : Dmytro Wassylowytsch Firtash
Cyrillic ( Russian )
Дмитрий Васильевич Фирташ
Transl .: Dmitrij Vasil'evič Firtaš
Transcr .: Dmitri Wassiljewitsch Firtash

Dmytro Wassylowytsch Firtash (born May 2, 1965 in Bohdaniwka (now Synkiv), Salishchyky district in Ternopil Oblast , Ukrainian SSR ) is a Ukrainian entrepreneur , investor , philanthropist, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Group DF and Chairman of the Association of Employers' Associations of Ukraine. With a fortune estimated at 10 billion euros in March 2014, Firtash is considered one of the richest Ukrainians and is counted among the oligarchs because he had great political influence in Ukraine , especially during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych . Firtash is active in the natural gas , chemical , media and banking sectors and has close contacts to Russia. At the beginning of 2015 he became known as the initiator of the “ Marshall Plan ” of the Agency for the Modernization of Ukraine , which wants to raise 300 to 500 billion euros.

Life

Firtash graduated from the Krasnyj Lyman Railway Technical Center , Donetsk Oblast , in 1984 and graduated from the National Academy of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. He did his military service from 1984 to 1986 in the Soviet army. After his time in the army, he was a firefighter in Chernivtsi for a few years .

Firtash has been in the natural gas business since 2000, among other things as an intermediary for Russian-Turkmen gas supplies to Ukraine. In 2001 he founded the Hungary-based company "Eural TG", which handled transit transactions for natural gas deliveries from Russia to Ukraine. In 2004 this company was liquidated.

Since 2005–2009, RosUkrEnergo has been the middleman for Russian gas supplies to Ukraine, Firtash holds 45% of the shares in this company. Since part of the gas imported from Russia is resold on the world market at a profit, the natural gas business is considered extremely lucrative, but also politically very sensitive and prone to conflict (see Russian-Ukrainian gas dispute ).

Firtash already had a good relationship with the former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and was long considered an influential ally of the former President Viktor Yanukovych . Conversely, the former Prime Minister Julija Tymoshenko is considered his bitter opponent. Tymoshenko had accused Firtash of having been a business partner or the front man for Mafia boss Semyon Mogilevich at times .

Dmytro Firtasch is considered to be one of the richest men in Ukraine, a large part of his companies are meanwhile combined in the "Group DF" whose headquarters are in Vienna. Firtash's fortune was estimated at over $ 10 billion in March 2014.

On February 17, 2012, Firtash was appointed by President Yanukovych to head the National Trilateral Social Economic Council, an advisory body to the Presidential Administration of Ukraine .

On February 1, 2013, Firtasch acquired 100 percent of the shares in Inter Media Group Limited . Hereby he was u. a. Owner of Inter (Інтер) TV channel , which is considered the most popular channel in Ukraine. The Ukrainian media speculated about the circumstances and background of this transaction.

As part of the Euromaidan protests, media reports indicate that Firtash withdrew from supporting the Yanukovych government. Firtasch has repeatedly been said to support the Udar party of former boxing world champion Vitali Klitschko . Klitschko, however, denied support from Firtasch. However, it became known that Petro Poroshenko and Klitschko met with Firtasch in Vienna at the end of March 2014 and - according to observers - solicited support.

In 2014 Firtasch acquired the building of the former Brompton Road subway station for 53 million pounds.

Arrested on suspicion of bribery and membership of a criminal organization

On March 12, 2014, Firtasch was arrested at the headquarters of his Austrian company branch in Vienna ; The basis was an arrest warrant issued in 2013 by a US federal district court on the basis of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for suspected bribery and membership in a criminal organization. The FBI had been investigating Firtash since 2006. On March 21, 2014, Firtasch was released on bail of 125 million euros, the highest amount in Austrian legal history. There were no investigations against him in Austria itself. The US government is demanding Austria's extradition and stressing that the prosecution has nothing to do with the political upheaval in Ukraine. According to media reports, Firtash is accused by the US judiciary of paying $ 18.5 million in bribes through US banks to official officials in India in connection with a titanium mining project . Firtash denies these allegations. His arrest was a politically motivated US action in connection with the Crimean crisis .

The judges at the Regional Court for Criminal Matters in Vienna justified their decision by stating that the US extradition request against the 49-year-old Ukrainian businessman was "also politically motivated". The court also stated in its reasoning that certain documents on key issues had not been submitted by the United States.

Firtasch had always rejected the allegations of bribery brought against him and described the investigations initiated by the USA as "politically motivated". The allegations of bribery were "completely absurd". He had employed an armada of lawyers to prevent his transfer to the US judiciary.

The French daily Le Monde interpreted Firtash's arrest three days before the referendum in Crimea as a warning from the USA to the Russian elite.

Rejection of the extradition request on April 30, 2015

On April 30, 2015, the Vienna Regional Court ruled that Firtasch would not be extradited to the USA because certain documents had not been transmitted by the USA and the US request for extradition against him was "also politically motivated". The US public prosecutor lodged a complaint against this decision through the Austrian representative public prosecutor's office. At the hearing, Leonid Kravchuk , Serhiy Lyovochkin and Yuriy Boiko were heard as witnesses about the political background to the allegations . Ex-Justice Minister Dieter Böhmdorfer was one of the defenders . The judge stated in his judgment: "America obviously viewed Firtash as someone who threatened their economic interests". But there was also a lack of evidence, which even the representative public prosecutor admitted. In the written testimony against Firtash submitted by the US judicial authority, the judge doubted that these witnesses might not even exist because the judicial authority had repeatedly refused to provide information about their identity. The testimony was anonymous and incomplete, and the American authorities had refused to provide full testimony and to allow testimony in court. The New York Times ruled the trial a "crushing reprimand from the judicial and state authorities," which even from the point of view of a European ally showed the reduced credibility of the United States authorities.

Approval of delivery on February 21, 2017

On February 21, 2017, the Vienna Higher Regional Court declared Firtasch's extradition to the United States permissible. He was arrested on the basis of a European arrest warrant from Spain. According to the Spanish judiciary, he is said to have carried out money laundering through real estate transactions and restaurants valued at ten million euros. On December 19, 2017, the Higher Regional Court of Vienna did not allow the Spanish extradition request for Firtasch. The decision is final. Firtash is accused by the Spanish judiciary of money laundering and involvement in a criminal organization.

After a decision by the Supreme Court on June 25, 2019, Firtash can be extradited to the USA. The court upheld the decision of the Vienna Higher Regional Court. Although the Minister of Justice has agreed to the extradition, Firtasch is allowed to stay in Austria. The defense has submitted an application for retrial, which a Viennese judge has granted suspensive effect.

literature

Web links

Commons : Dmytro Firtash  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. biography on own website , accessed on February 23, 2015
  2. Фірташ інвестує ще 1,5 мільярда у свою "хімічну" імперію
  3. Фірташ ініціював створення Інвестиційного фонду “Буковина” ( Memento of the original from April 14, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.smeua.com
  4. Фірташ інвестує 25 млн дол. у розвиток порту «Ніка-Тера» ( Memento of the original from May 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / agravery.com
  5. Дмитро Фірташ - один з провідних благодійників України
  6. Фирташ готов финансировать возрождение народных обрядов и традиций
  7. Мільярдер Фірташ став меценатом УКУ
  8. Дмитро Фірташ став меценатом Українського католицького університету
  9. Дмитро Фірташ: “Українські бізнесмени повинні відродити традиції меценатства”
  10. ^ Governing body of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine
  11. Skepticism towards the Firtasch project derstandard.at of March 5, 2015 , accessed on March 7, 2015
  12. How Michael Spindelegger should modernize the Ukraine , diepresse.com of March 3, 2015 , accessed on March 7, 2015
  13. [1]
  14. http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/93072/
  15. http://www.news.at/articles/0811/30/200289/format-gewinner-gaskrieg-dmytro-firtash-firmenzentrale-wien
  16. The oligarch's bodyguards offered no resistance , Tages-Anzeiger of March 14, 2014
  17. Archive link ( Memento of the original from February 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nrcu.gov.ua
  18. http://www.kyivpost.com/news/business/bus_general/detail/123062/
  19. Media pluralism à la Ukraine - money and power put radio reporting in shackles ( memento of the original from October 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Article on the Friedrich Naumann Foundation website from February 15, 2013 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.freiheit.org
  20. Government could overthrow by no-confidence vote , FAZ of December 3, 2013
  21. ^ The power of the oligarchs in the ex-Soviet republics , Tagesschau.de of December 10, 2013
  22. Klitschko denies connection to Firtash , Kyiv Post, December 13, 2013
  23. Tymoshenko: "The oligarchy must go once and for all" diepresse.com from April 12, 2014 , accessed on April 14, 2014
  24. Klitschko & Poroschenko secret with Firtasch in Vienna oe24.at from April 1, 2014 , accessed on April 14, 2014
  25. Peter Walker and David Pegg: "Revelations about empty homes in Grenfell area 'simply unacceptable'" The Guardian of August 2, 2017
  26. ^ Austrian Court Denies US Request to Extradite Dmytro Firtash Bid for Ukrainian billionaire ruled to be politically motivated , The Wall Street Journal May 1, 2015
  27. ^ The oligarch in the Josefstadt prison , Die Presse of March 13, 2014
  28. Billionaire arrested on Chicago corruption charges posts record $ 174M bail , archive link ( Memento of the original from August 8, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , March 21, 2014 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / abclocal.go.com
  29. ^ "Help with FBI investigations: Ukrainian oligarch arrested in Vienna" , derstandard.at of March 13, 2014
  30. Record deposit: Ukrainian oligarch Firtash at large , derstandard.at of March 21, 2014
  31. ^ Warning shots towards Moscow , format from March 21, 2014
  32. Austrian court refuses extradition of Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash to US , German wave from May 1, 2015
  33. Oligarch Firtash gets caught between the fronts of the US and the EU , format from March 27, 2014
  34. ^ Legal success for Ukrainian oligarchs in Vienna , Deutsche Welle from April 30, 2015
  35. ^ Legal success for Ukrainian oligarchs in Vienna , Deutsche Welle from April 30, 2015
  36. Piotr Smolar: L'arrestation de l'oligarque Dmitro Firtach, un signal pour Moscou , Le Monde , 14 March 2014
  37. Oligarch Firtash will not be delivered to the USA, in Kurier (daily newspaper) of April 30, 2015 ; accessed on May 1, 2015
  38. Austrian court refuses extradition of Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash to US , German wave from May 1, 2015
  39. According to the extradition agreement, the American authorities have the right to refuse confidential information if this information cannot be protected by the requested state. [2]
  40. Judge rebuffs US in Rejecting Extradition of Ukraine Billionaire New York Times on April 30, 2015
  41. ^ Austrian Court Denies US Request to Extradite Dmytro Firtash Bid for Ukrainian billionaire ruled to be politically motivated , The Wall Street Journal May 1, 2015
  42. Judge rebuffs US in Rejecting Extradition of Ukraine Billionaire New York Times on April 30, 2015 The ruling [...] amounted to a scathing rebuke of the Justice and State Departments, and reflected the diminished credibility of the United States Authorities, even in the eyes of a European ally.
  43. Dmitri Firtasch - Ukrainian oligarch on a justice odyssey . In: Die Presse , February 21, 2017.
  44. Firtash is not delivered to Spain
  45. Firtasch will not be delivered for the time being despite Jabloner's approval. In: The Standard. July 16, 2019, accessed July 18, 2019 .