Potapenko and Turõgin can appeal the decision until May 2.

In January, the government renewed its decision to extradite the men, which they appealed. In March, the Tallinn Administrative Court also found there was no reason to cancel the government's order after an appeal.  

The government first issued orders to extradite Potapenko and Turõgin to the U.S. in September 2023, but the court overturned the order. It ruled the government had not properly considered the consequences of extradition on fundamental rights when issuing the orders.

But this time, the circuit court found there was no basis for setting aside the government's January order, saying extra analysis had been carried out when making the decision.

The court agreed with the government's conclusion that, although the extradition violates several important fundamental rights, it is still a moderate measure considering the importance of the requested goal.

According to the court, there is no reasonable basis to believe that there is a real risk that the Potapenko and Turõgin may be threatened with inhumane or degrading treatment in the U.S.

Additionally, it was said Estonia does not have the resources to prosecute the criminal case.

The Estonian National Criminal Police and the U.S.' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested the two men as suspects in November 2022 in relation to a $575 million cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering in a joint operation.

At the time, Oskar Gross, head of the Cybercrime Bureau of the National Criminal Police: "The sheer volume of this investigation is described by the fact that this is one of the largest fraud cases we've ever had in Estonia."

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