Ukrainian oligarch to be released on EUR 125 mln bail

Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash, a key-player in Russian-Ukrainian gas trade, may be released from custody in Vienna today on a bail of EUR 125 mln, a record sum for the Austrian judicial system, the Ukrainian daily media Gazeta.ua wrote March 18.

“Firtash, who was arrested in Vienna on suspicion of participating in a criminal organization and bribery, may be released once the EUR 125 mln is transferred to a depository account of the Vienna Regional Court,” the paper wrote.

The oligarch was detained on March 13, after a US federal court issued an arrest warrant based on an eight-year investigation by the FBI, Gazeta.ua reported.

The court still has to rule on whether to extradite the Ukrainian business tycoon to the US.

Dmitry Firtash is a co-owner of RosUkrEnergo AG, an Ukrainian importer of Russian natural gas. He also owns eight TV stations. Several of his assets are located in the militarized by the Russian troops Crimean peninsula.