Titanium case: Congress MP K V P Ramachandra Rao to get relief

With the US authorities unable to extradite Firtash, it is expected that Dr Rao too will get relief. An Austrian court has rejected the US request to extradite Mr Firtash agreeing with the defence argument that the case was politically motivated. US prosecutors had sought the arrest of Mr Firtash, a one-time ally of ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych during a power vacuum in the country last year, tied to its standoff with Russia, Judge Christoph Bauer in Vienna said.

The prosecutor representing the US appealed the decision. Mr Firtash is allowed to leave Austria until a second court makes a final ruling in the case, Judge Bauer said. US authorities have accused Mr Firtash of hatching a conspiracy to pay $18.5 million to Indian officials to facilitate a mining project. Mr Firtash, meanwhile, had said that he was caught up in a larger battle over the future of Ukraine.

The 49-year-old Mr Firtash, during the 12-hour hearing on Thursday said, “I have my views on how Ukraine should develop, and they are different from those of the US government… I won’t confess to paying bribes in India.” Mr Firtash’s lawyer, former Austrian minister Mr Dieter Boehmdorfer, told the court that the US wanted to eliminate Mr Firtash from Ukrainian politics because he was perceived as pro- Russian.

The US had also alleged that late CM YSR had received huge kickbacks in the titanium scam and Dr Rao had played a key role in it. A red corner Interpol notice had been issued against Dr Rao for his alleged involvement in the mining scam. However, the HC had granted a respite to KVP by directing the CID to refrain from proceeding against him based on the red corner notice. The High Court was granting interim order on a petition by KVP apprehending his arrest by the CID on the ground of the red corner notice.