Ukrainian energy magnate and Cambridge benefactor Dmitry Firtash was arrested in Austria last week at the request of the FBI, and now faces possible extradition to the US.

Firtash is being held in Vienna pending a decision on whether he will have to stand trial in the US. He is suspected of bribery and of forming a criminal organisation during the course of his business deals. He has been under investigation by the FBI since 2006, and a spokesman fro Group DF has claimed that the allegations are related to an investment project in India that was undertaken in that year. Firtash has denied the allegations.

Firtash is not new to public scandal. A cable from the US ambassador in Kiev, released by WikiLeaks, claimed that Firtash had admitted having ties to Semyon Mogilevich, a notorious figure in Russian organised crime. Firtash later denied ever having had any commercial association with Mogilevich.

Firtash has donated £5.4 million to Cambridge University, setting up a Ukrainian Studies department, as well as a scholarship scheme for Ukrainian graduate students wishing to study at Cambridge. In recognition of his significant donations, the University made him a member of the Guild of Cambridge Benefactors in 2011.

Firtash’s arrest has raised concerns about the University’s policy regarding donations. In a recent press release, Positive Investment Cambridge stated: “The arrest of a Cambridge donor reveals the lack of any explicit guidelines on ethics and responsibility that govern how the University’s invests its endowment and receives donations”. Despite two years of student-led campaigning on this issue, continues the press release, the Advisory Committee on Benefactions and Legal and External Affair, the committee overseeing donations and investment policy has not adopted the “recommendation for a more explicit policy and proactive oversight role”.

A University spokesman stated: "We are aware of the situation. It would be inappropriate to comment further until this matter is resolved. The benefaction from the DF Foundation is used solely for educational purposes and the Foundation has no influence over its allocation."