French court rejects extradition request for Ukrainian billionaire in bribery case
The Paris Court of Appeal on Oct. 29 rejected a request to extradite Ukrainian billionaire Kostiantyn Zhevago to his home country, the news agency Interfax Ukraine reported.
The court ruled that Zhevago would not face a fair trial in Ukraine, and his rights would not be protected.
The request was filed by the Ukrainian authorities in a bribery case against Zhevago, who has denied the accusations of wrongdoing.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) charged him in 2023 with bribing Vsevolod Kniazev, former head of the Supreme Court.
Zhevago transferred $2.7 million to his lawyer, of which $1.8 million was intended to be the bribe for the Supreme Court, and the rest was for the legal advisor's "mediation services," according to the NABU.
In 2023 a French court also rejected Ukraine's extradition request for Zhevago in a separate embezzlement case.
In 2019, Zhevago was charged with embezzling and laundering $113 million at Finance & Credit Bank.
Zhevago is the owner of the iron pellet producer Ferrexpo.
Elsa Court
