DUBLIN, Ireland: A Ukrainian lawyer who fled to Ireland to escape the war has lost his appeal against an order for his extradition to the United States, where he faces charges of using ransomware to extort more than 600,000 euros in cryptocurrency from victims.
In February, Ireland's High Court approved a U.S. request to extradite Oleksii Oleksiyovych Lytvynenko (42), who is accused of conspiring to commit computer and wire fraud in a ransomware scheme that allegedly targeted a government agency and two businesses in Tennessee between 2020 and 2022. Two of the victims reportedly paid around US$634,000 in cryptocurrency.
Lytvynenko, who has been in custody for two years, appealed the extradition order issued by Justice David Keane. But on October 13, the Court of Appeal dismissed his challenge. Delivering judgment, Justice Tara Burns said none of Lytvynenko's arguments had merit.
Lytvynenko's lawyer, Tim O'Leary SC, asked the court for a one-week delay before implementing the extradition order to review the decision, a request the court granted.
Lytvynenko was granted temporary protection in Ireland in September 2022 after fleeing Ukraine following Russia's invasion. His wife and child had arrived earlier that year under the same protection scheme.
According to the U.S. indictment issued in May 2023, Lytvynenko and others allegedly deployed Conti ransomware to encrypt victims' computer data, demanding payment in cryptocurrency for a decryption key and a promise not to leak stolen data online.
Lytvynenko appealed on human rights grounds, arguing that his extradition would violate his right to a fair trial under the European Convention on Human Rights. He claimed he had been unable to access evidence from his seized devices or gather witnesses from war-torn Ukraine to prepare his defense.
He also argued that extraditing him to the U.S. would breach Ireland's obligations under EU law to protect those granted temporary protection due to the war, as such a status does not exist in the United States.
The Court of Appeal rejected all his arguments, clearing the way for his extradition.
