 |
| ABOUT US | PRACTICE GROUPS | LOCATIONS | CONTACTS |
|
March 11, 2006 Turn in Kozeny case, allegedly new accusations Nassau/New York - An unexpected turn occurred in the court hearing of Viktor Kozeny, Irish businessman of Czech origin, in the Bahamas on Friday, and according to his defence counsel, the whole proceedings should start from the very beginning now. The Bahamian prosecutor who represents the interests of the United States submitted a new list of accusations which, Kozeny's defence counsel says, means that the proceedings will have to return to point zero. Prosector Francis Cumberbatch however claims that this is but a completion of the original indictment. Judge Carolita Bethel confirmed the dubious nature of this approach and said that she has not yet come across such situation. The United States has requested for Kozeny's extradition on suspicion of corruption and money laundering during the privatisation of oil industry in Azerbaijan. Kozeny, 43, who claims innocence, has been in custody in the Bahamas since October 5 last. The trial started in February when the prosecutor explained U.S. accusations and proposed that Kozeny be extradited to the United States. The defence then claimed that the U.S. request does not meet law conditions, mainly because it accuses Kozeny of offences that are not punishable either in the Bahamas nor in the Unite States. Kozeny's major argument rests in that the U.S. anti-corruption law (FCPA) did not apply to him at the time he allegedly committed the offence, Douglas McNabb, U.S. expert in extraditions abroad, says. The Bahamian state prosecutor however has now attempted to propose evidence of something that has not been part of the indictment by the USA, namely that Kozeny continued bribing Azerbaijani representatives after 1998 as well, McNabb said. The United States extended the validity of the law, that had always applied to certain groups of foreigners only, to practically all foreigners in 1998. However, even if the judge accepted the U.S. arguments, she will have to take into account the argument of the defence that Kozeny's activities are not punishable in the Bahamas. To extradite a person for prosecution abroad, their activities must be punishable in both countries. After the hearings were adjourned several times, Cumberbatch submitted on Friday a new list of accusations worked out by U.S. authorities and confirmed by the Bahamian Foreign Minister, which is a condition for the Bahamian court to start to deal with the matter at all. The minister did so in spite of the fact that he has not yet decided on the Czech application for Kozeny's extradition that was lodged before the U.S. request. Kozeny has been wanted by the Czech Republic in connection with a fraud worth 13.6 billion crowns as former head of Harvardsky prumyslovy holding (HPH). Bethel has dismissed the request of the defence that Kozeny be released form custody, and set March 14 as the date of further hearing. This article can also be found in the Prague Daily Monitor, Czech Republic, Ceske noviny, and Czech Happenings. | |