Cyprus Court of Appeal rejects extradition of Ukrainian national

The Cyprus Court of Appeal has finalized the rejection of an extradition request from Ukrainian authorities for a Ukrainian national, identified as O.S.L., who has resided in Cyprus since 2018. The court upheld a previous Limassol District Court decision, citing significant, unjustified procedural delays and critical deficiencies in the provided legal documentation. The individual, who left Ukraine legally in 2017, is accused of two serious economic crimes related to the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority, involving embezzlement estimated at 9 million euros and organized abuse of power by officials. The court noted that for one of the alleged offenses, a valid arrest warrant was missing. Judges X.B. Charalambous, M. Toumazi, and T. Thoma presided over the unanimous decision, with the state represented by S. Erotocritou and the respondent by lawyer T. Adamou. The ruling confirms that the extradition cannot proceed, though it does not address the underlying guilt or innocence regarding the charges. The individual’s family, including his wife and two minor children, has been living with him in Limassol since 2022.