MOSCOW - The Austrian authorities arrested a Ukrainian billionaire, Dmitry V. Firtash, on Thursday on bribery and other charges at the request of American law enforcement agencies, Austrian news agencies reported. Mr. Firtash has strong connections to the ousted Ukrainian president, Viktor F. Yanukovych, and also conducts extensive business in natural gas with Russia.
The Austrian federal police identified the man only as Dmitry F., a 48-year-old Ukrainian citizen, and said he was arrested Wednesday evening in a district of Vienna without incident. A government source confirmed that it was Mr. Firtash. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been investigating Mr. Firtash since 2006, and an arrest warrant had been issued for him by a federal judge in Virginia, the Austrian authorities said.
The arrest comes amid swirling political turmoil in Ukraine, with Russian forces occupying the Crimean peninsula in the south of the country and regional officials there seeking to break away from Ukraine to become part of Russia.
The United States has begun to impose sanctions on Russia in response to its intervention in Ukraine. On Wednesday, President Obama met at the White House with Ukraine's acting prime minister, Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, in a show of support for the fledgling government that has replaced Mr. Yanukovych in Kiev.
In a twist, Mr. Yatsenyuk, who is a veteran of Ukrainian politics, has also been accused of close ties to Mr. Firtash. The former Ukrainian prime minister, Yulia V. Tymoshenko, who is now an ally of Mr. Yatsenyuk, had once derided him as a 'political project' of Mr. Firtash.
Ms. Tymoshenko and Mr. Yatsenyuk both ran for president of Ukraine in 2010, with Ms. Tymoshenko losing in a close race to Mr. Yanukovych while Mr. Yatsenyuk received less than 7 percent of the vote.
Mr. Firtash, who made his fortune in natural gas, developed a close business partnership with Sergei Levochkin, who served as the chief of staff of Mr. Yanukovych's presidential administration. Together, Mr. Firtash and Mr. Levochkin last year purchased Inter Media Group, a media and broadcasting company, which includes the popular Inter television station.
Mr. Firtash's main company, Group DF, is a conglomerate that includes chemical manufacturing companies, energy transport and supply firms, as well as banks and media outlets in addition to the Inter group. Forbes has pegged his net worth at more than $2 billion.
Mr. Levochkin submitted a resignation to Mr. Yanukovych shortly after the start of the antigovernment protests in Kiev in late November, but Mr. Yanukovych refused to accept it. Mr. Levochkin left the administration earlier this year, though it was unclear at the time if he had been dismissed or had quit.
Since Mr. Yanukovych's ouster late last month, some European countries, including Austria, have said that they were looking to freeze assets tied to Mr. Yanukovych, who is wanted in Ukraine on charges of mass murder.
Posted by Unknown on Thursday, March 13, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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