Austria rejects Spanish extradition for Ukrainian oligarch

VIENNA – An Austrian court has rejected a Spanish extradition request for a Ukrainian oligarch suspected of money laundering and membership in a criminal organization, saying there was insufficient evidence for the application.

Court spokeswoman Christina Salzborn said Wednesday that the accusations against Dymitro Firtash were “not sufficiently put in concrete terms” and an Austrian request for more details has not been met.

Salzborn says Austrian prosecutors can appeal the decision to a higher court. A U.S. extradition request remains pending.

Firtash was indicted by a U.S. grand jury in 2012 for allegedly paying off officials through U.S. banks in a failed attempt to secure titanium mining rights in India worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He has business ties to President Donald Trump’s ex-campaign manager, Paul Manafort.