Austrian court OKs extraditing suspect

VIENNA — An Austrian court on Tuesday approved a U.S. extradition request for a Ukrainian oligarch suspected of paying millions of dollars in bribes to Indian officials.

The court decision overturns a lower court ruling nearly two years ago against extraditing Dymitro Firtash. That judge said the U.S. move was at least partially politically motivated through links to political events in Ukraine, and not supported by sufficient evidence.

Extradition, however, is still not a certainty. Leo Levnaic-Iwanski, who headed the three-judge panel of the Upper State Court, said the final decision will be made by Justice Minister Wolfgang Brandstetter.

Firtash was indicted in Chicago by a U.S. grand jury in 2012 on allegations he paid off officials through U.S. banks in a failed attempt to secure titanium-mining rights in India.