France will not extradite billionaire Zhevago to Ukraine
Ukraine wants to put Konstyantin Zhevago on trial on suspicion of embezzlement. The billionaire was arrested in the French Alps almost a year ago - but the French do not want to extradite him for a good reason.
France will not extradite the billionaire Konstyantin Zhevago to Ukraine. A French appeals court ruled that a fair trial could not be guaranteed in view of the martial law in force in Ukraine, according to the ruling published by the Reuters news agency on Friday.
"(The court) concludes that the applicant state is not in a position to guarantee that Mr. Zhevago will be tried by a court capable of ensuring basic procedural guarantees and the protection of the rights of the defense." The French proceedings have been discontinued, explained a spokesperson for Zhevago.
Ukraine wants to bring Zhevago to court on suspicion of embezzlement in connection with the collapse of the credit institution Finance & Credit Bank (F&C) in 2015. Zhevago was arrested in December 2022 at Ukraine's request in the French ski resort of Courcheval, but was subsequently released on bail of one million euros. He repeatedly denied the accusations made by the Ukrainian authorities.
Zhevago is the main shareholder of the London-listed iron ore producer Ferrexpo, which is operationally controlled from Switzerland. Zhevago said in a statement that it wanted to refute the allegations made by Ukraine. "As soon as it is possible within the Ukrainian jurisdiction, I will make every effort to challenge the allegations made against me through legal channels."
In connection with Zhevago, Ukraine uncovered millions in bribes at the Supreme Court in May. Court President Vsevolod Knyazyev was caught receiving three million US dollars (2.76 million euros), reported the online newspaper "Ukrajinska Pravda". Knjasjew was taken into custody. This was followed by raids on 18 other judges. According to media reports, they were suspected of having accepted payments from Zhevago.
Despite Ukraine's efforts to extradite billionaire Konstyantin Zhevago for embezzlement charges related to the collapse of Finance & Credit Bank in 2015, France's appellate court has decided against it due to concerns about fair trial guarantees under the ongoing martial law in Ukraine. The corruption allegations against Zhevago have also extended to Ukraine's Supreme Court, with Court President Vsevolod Knyazyev and 18 other judges suspected of accepting bribes from him.
Source: www.ntv.de
