Ellex advised the Government of the Republic of Estonia in the court cases for the extradition to the USA of individuals suspected of crypto fraud
Ellex in Estonia successfully advised the Government of the Republic of Estonia in administrative proceedings where individuals suspected of cryptocurrency fraud appealed the decision by the Government to extradite them to the USA.
Estonian and US authorities initiated proceedings as there was evidence to suspect two Estonian citizens of committing crypto fraud amounting to half a million euros in the USA. Extradition custody regarding the suspects was carried out already in November 2022. This usually terminates within a year with extradition carried out, but this case was disputed in several court instances several times. The dispute raised for the first time the fundamental question as to what extent the Estonian state needs to verify the conditions in a US custodial institution.
It was first argued whether extradition needs to be accompanied by being taken into custody. Until now, this was presumed in case law, but this case resulted in a judgment by the Supreme Court which changed the practice and now extradition allows electronic monitoring as a more lenient enforcement measure.
When the first extradition decision by the Government was annulled by the court of second instance, the Government decided to deliberate extraditing individuals once more and collect additional evidence. When weighing the case for the second time, the Government proceeded from the guidelines of the circuit court and also came to the conclusion that the extradition of the individuals is permittable. Although the representatives of the persons to be extradited appealed also this decision in administrative court and the circuit court, the new order by the Supreme Court sustained the judgments of the administrative and circuit court which sustained the extradition. Ellex represented the Government of the Republic of Estonia in this dispute that ended successfully for our client.
The Government was represented by Ellex Partner Martin Triipan and Senior Associate Kaisa Jakobsoo with assistance from Partner Marko Kairjak and Lawyer Anna Leena Neering.
