A court in the French city of Chambéry has rejected the Ukrainian side's request for the extradition of Kostyantyn Zhevago, according to a statement by the Ukrainian businessman's lawyers to Interfax-Ukraine.
"The court rejected the request after a thorough review of all the case materials, taking into account all the evidence and arguments provided by the defence," the document says.
In the Ukrainian businessman's opinion, the French court's ruling "confirms that there are no sufficient grounds for extradition and proves that the charges are unfounded".
"This persecution has a political motive and clear signs of a PR campaign by state law enforcement agencies. I hope that the State Bureau of Investigation and the Prosecutor General's Office will finally listen to my arguments and respect the law in the further consideration of this case," Zhevago said in a statement.
His lawyers noted that over the past four years, the businessman has continued to appeal to the SBI and the Prosecutor General's Office with a proposal to testify. According to them, Zhevago wants to bring the case either to closure or to trial as soon as possible.
In January, the Prosecutor General's Office provided its French counterparts with all the documents necessary for the extradition of former MP and billionaire Zhevago.
In December 2022, Zhevago was detained in Courchevel, France. He had been wanted since 2019. The businessman is suspected of organizing the misappropriation of a commercial bank's property and further legalization of illegally obtained funds in particularly large amounts (Part 3 of Article 27, Part 5 of Article 191, Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Zhevago's companies are suspected of tax evasion in the amount of UAH 94.6 million.