If American officials wanted to try Mr. Firtash in Chicago, the judge said, more evidence of criminal conduct was needed, including the names of cooperating witnesses and what they were expected to say. The Americans refused, saying that to identify them would put their lives at risk, since Mr. Firtash was “associated with an upper-echelon member of the Russian mafia, Semion Mogilevich.” Mr. Firtash adamantly denies having had any business relationship with Mr. Mogilevich.
That was when prosecutors discovered Exhibit A in Boeing’s files. Rarely does someone put in writing the need for bribes. Yet now, more than a year after the indictment, prosecutors had a document that they called “very clear proof” that Mr. Firtash’s enterprise had advised Boeing “of the plan to bribe Indian public officials, which was already underway.”
A Vital Piece of Information
The Austrian judge, Christoph Bauer, had more questions.
Why, he wondered, had prosecutors waited so long after the indictment to arrest Mr. Firtash? He was not hiding, the judge said, adding that American officials should have known that Mr. Firtash had visited France, Germany and Switzerland and made a very public appearance when he ceremoniously opened the London Stock Exchange one day in October 2013.
And then there was the curious timing of the Americans’ pursuit of Mr. Firtash, which the judge suspected was linked to his influence in Ukrainian politics, especially his help in electing the president, Viktor F. Yanukovych, in 2010.
Three years later, Mr. Yanukovych was wavering over whether to sign an economic agreement with the European Union or to align with Russia. He also faced re-election.
As soon as it became clear that Mr. Yanukovych, under pressure from Russia, was reconsidering signing the European Union agreement, the judge pointed out, an American delegation traveled to Kiev to bring him in line.
Facing the prospect that Mr. Firtash might sway Mr. Yanukovych and use his connections to help him remain in power, the United States asked Austria to arrest the oligarch, the judge said.
from Just News Update http://bit.ly/2EYyCQ2
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