Belarusian diplomatic status saved oligarch Firtash from extradition

On November 4, 2024, the Vienna Regional Court justified a decision that has been legally binding since Tuesday, which the court made available to the APA anonymously. In the Foreign Ministry, however, Firtash was not seen as a diplomat and nothing is known about his diplomatic activities.

More than seven years after the start of extradition proceedings against the native Ukrainian, which was related to US allegations of corruption in a never-realized titanium deal in India, the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Belarus to the United Nations in Vienna declared Dmytro Firtash a diplomat in 2021 – relevant notes were sent to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Austrian Foreign Ministry in June and July 2021 (BMEIA) transmitted. “Immediately after his appointment as advisor to the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Belarus to the International Organizations in Vienna, the person concerned began his work,” the court order describes statements made by a Firtash lawyer a few days later.

UNIDO and BMEIA refused accreditation

Both UNIDO and the Austrian Foreign Ministry refused formal accreditation to the native Ukrainian, and he did not receive any identification card. The ministry argued in October 2023 that it saw no obligation under the UNIDO Headquarters Convention to grant privileges and immunities to those people who, according to UNIDO, were not lawfully accredited. A legal obstacle was also seen at Minoritenplatz due to the person concerned’s activity in Austria aimed at personal gain, as well as an abuse of privileges and immunities.

The Vienna Regional Court, which did not consider this authority view to be legally binding in terms of the separation of powers, came to the conclusion in February 2024 that Firtash had enjoyed absolute immunity since the notes were transmitted. “After examining the legal situation, the adjudicating court also assumes that the Republic of Austria, as the host state, has no influence on the existence of this immunity,” says the court decision.

Court contradicted International Law Office in the Foreign Ministry

The argument of the international law office in the Foreign Ministry that the legal opinion represented by the court would “soon make Austria the most popular international refuge for millionaire fraudsters, bank robbers, mafia and drug bosses, tax evaders or other people” did not convince the judge. If the host state has concerns about individual representatives of member states, the member state must be asked to waive the immunity of its representative and can ultimately even have the representative leave the host state – albeit with respect for his personal inviolability, according to the decision.

In Firtash’s case, the court had previously asked the Austrian Ministry of Justice to ask whether the Foreign Ministry wanted to waive Firtash’s immunity in view of ongoing extradition proceedings. However, the Austrian Foreign Ministry refused this request because Firtash was not legally accredited to UNIDO.

Belarusian embassy spokesman does not know Firtash

However, the court order leaves it unclear what the Ukrainian’s diplomatic activities have consisted of since 2021. Firtasch’s lawyer Rüdiger Schender and his Austrian spokesman Daniel Kapp did not want to comment on this on Thursday when asked by the APA. A spokesman for the Belarusian embassy told the APA that he did not know anyone Firtash and could not help.

However, the justification for the inadmissibility of extradition based on diplomatic immunity could become relevant in the future in this specific case. In a decree published in 2013 by the Austrian Ministry of Justice on recommended procedures against persons who enjoy immunity under international law at home, there is mention of the possibility of informally continuing criminal proceedings domestically after immunity has ceased. Firtash’s current protection from extradition could therefore be withdrawn by Belarus at any time.

It is also questionable whether the appointment as a diplomat is in accordance with current Belarusian laws: only people who exclusively have Belarusian citizenship can be accepted into the state service of the Eastern European country. In the case of diplomats, not even spouses are allowed to have other nationalities. Firtash himself is not known to have renounced his Ukrainian citizenship. He continues to be listed as a citizen of Ukraine in official Ukrainian databases.