The Swedes detained a former deputy of Ukraine. He came to a Stevie Wonder concert

As reported by the daily "Expressen", a man using a Ukrainian passport, but also having Russian citizenship, was not allowed to enter Sweden on Thursday. The reason was the decision of the Polish authorities to ban entry to the Schengen area. Swiatasz flew to Stockholm for a Stevie Wonder concert.

Will there be extradition?

The Ukrainian politician is currently staying in a closed center of the Migration Office in Maersta near Stockholm. His fate will be decided by the Migration Court, to which his lawyer Mark Safaryan appealed when opposing extradition to Ukraine. The lawyer believes that this is impossible due to the Supreme Court's judgment in a similar case from October 2023, suspending the transfer of a deported person to Ukraine due to the ongoing war.

Safaryan, quoted by the newspaper, believes that the accusations against Svyatasz are of a political nature. He expressed hope that his client would be released and be able to return home to Russia. He assured that the man had a private jet.

Safaryan is a popular attorney for Swedish celebrities who came to Sweden from Armenia in the 1990s as a child, and also speaks Russian - which was previously reported in the Swedish media.

Who is Dmytro Sviatash?

Dmytro Svyatash is a Ukrainian politician and entrepreneur, co-owner of the AIS group of companies, deputy to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for several terms (in 2002-2019). He was a member of the Party of Regions faction and sat, among others, in the parliamentary committee on financial, banking, tax and customs policy.

After criminal proceedings were initiated in 2019 on suspicion of fraud on loans granted by UkrSibbank to related companies of the AIS group and failure to repay the debt, he left for Russia.

In separate proceedings, he was accused of, among others, fraud and forgery of documents. In June 2024, he was sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property. In this case, losses amounting to UAH 2.2 billion were indicated.

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, there were reports that the Russian authorities were considering him for a leadership position in occupied Kharkov.

In November 2023, Svyatash was placed under Ukrainian sanctions pursuant to a decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine implemented by a decree of President Volodymyr Zelensky.