U.S. authorities accuse Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash of paying multi‑million‑dollar bribes to Indian officials in 2006 to secure titanium mining licences; he denies the charges as politically motivated and tied to his Moscow-linked influence.

Firtash has lived under an international arrest warrant since 2014, effectively keeping him in Austria despite extensive business interests across energy, chemicals, media, banking and real estate in several countries.

U.S. Justice Department officials say the bribes were for licenses to extract titanium in India, while Firtash has been detained in Vienna since 2014 on the U.S. warrant, later released on a 125 million euro bail.

The latest court decision effectively ends the extradition process at this stage, with no immediate avenues for appeal.

Austrian media outlets, including Der Standard and Kurier, reported the latest ruling and noted procedural context in Vienna.

The extradition saga has featured multiple twists: Austrian courts rejected extradition in 2015, considered a 2017–2019 path, and a 2024 ruling found it inadmissible; prosecutors failed to meet the deadline for an appeal.

Historically, Austrian courts oscillated on extradition, with earlier motives debated as political, then a 2017 ruling allowing it, a 2019 Supreme Court confirmation, and a 2024 ruling followed by the current final decision.

Austria previously rejected extradition in 2015 on political grounds, with successive appeals and court reviews culminating in the 2024 inadmissibility ruling and the 2025 final decision.

Before the invasion of Ukraine, Firtash sought permission to return home to defend Ukraine.

Since the 2014 crisis, he has been effectively confined to Austria under an international arrest warrant, though the latest ruling grants him freedom of movement within Austria.

The court’s latest judgment blocks extradition at this stage and keeps the bribery-related charges unresolved in the long legal saga.

The Vienna Higher Regional Court confirmed a December 2024 decision that extradition to the United States cannot proceed, with the ruling described as final.