Eugeni “Zhenya” Tsvetnenko, to spend third Christmas in Perth jail

A Russian-born technology tycoon accused of participating in a massive text message scam in the US will spend his third Christmas behind bars in Perth before finally facing an extradition hearing next year.

Father-of-two Eugeni “Zhenya” Tsvetnenko, 40, was charged by New York authorities with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in mid-2016 but wasn’t arrested until December 2018.

He has been detained at Hakea Prison ever since and has lost three bids to secure bail after being deemed a flight risk.

His lawyer had argued his special circumstances – including a painful spinal condition that requires hydrotherapy – were not properly considered.

On Monday, a hearing to determine whether he should be extradited to the US was set down in Perth Magistrates Court for March 22 and 23, 2021.

His spokeswoman says he was not in the US at the time of the alleged offences and never attempted to flee while aware of the charges two-and-a-half years prior to his arrest.

“His situation has shone the spotlight on Australia’s flawed and outdated extradition regime,” she said.

“Almost impossible to obtain, bail in extradition cases is generally only available if someone can prove exceptional circumstances such as they may die if left in prison.

“Another aspect of the (Extradition) Act, which places enormous trust in foreign justice agencies, is our ‘no evidence’ model of extradition.

“This means that foreign justice agencies are not required to show there is sufficient evidence to justify proceeding with a case against an Australian citizen.

“This is a ‘one-sided rule’ because treaty partners such as the United States require Australian authorities to prove they have enough evidence to meet the probable cause standard before they agree to hand over people in their jurisdiction.”

She said Mr Tsvetnenko’s case was being investigated by the United Nations Human Rights Committee, with a petition lodged by human rights barrister Geoffrey Robertson arguing Mr Tsvetnenko’s imprisonment was cruel, unnecessary and breached Australia’s international human rights obligations.

“Australia could follow the example of the United Kingdom’s Forum Bar whereby in cases where more than 80 per cent of alleged activity took place on home soil, extradition is blocked and the trial is held locally.”

US authorities say Mr Tsvetnenko and his co-offenders reaped more than $US150 million ($A208 million) from charging mobile phone customers for recurring text messages about trivia and horoscopes that they never signed up for.