NEWS

CBI will 'study judgement on Quattrocchi'

Source:PTI
June 09, 2007

The CBI said on Friday that it would study the order before deciding on the next course of action including an appeal on the Argentine court's decision not to grant extradition of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi to India to face trial in the Bofors pay-off scam.

CBI Director Vijay Shanker, who is out of the country, told PTI over the phone that the agency would study the order of the court before deciding on the future course of action - "We need to study the order before chalking out the future course of action."

When asked about the possibility of filing an appeal against the local court order, which should be done before June 18, Shanker said, "Five days is enough of time for us to file a detailed appeal before the Supreme Court."

A court in El Dorado rejected India's request for extradition of Italian businessman and said that it would give a detailed order on June 13.

The 69-year-old Italian was detained on February 6 at Argentina's Iguazu international airport on the basis of a Red Corner Notice issued by Interpol at the behest of the CBI.

The detention was announced by the CBI on February 23, prompting severe criticism for the delay.

The CBI has been at the receiving end on the Quattrocchi's issue.

In January last year, it received flak after a British bank de-froze the account of Quattrocchi.

The bank's action came after the CBI failed to provide any evidence to the British Crown Prosecution Service, which had frozen his two bank accounts with three million pounds in July 2003.

The accounts had been frozen after CBI alleged that Quattrocchi had received $712 million from AB Bofors through AE Services, a UK-based company.

On December 13, 2002, a Malaysian court dismissed India's plea for extradition of the Italian businessman. Malaysian high court judge Justice Augustine Paul gave the ruling on a petition by India challenging the verdict of a sessions court, which had rejected India's plea for the his extradition to India to stand trial in the Bofors payoff case.

Attempts to extradite Quattrocchi from Malaysia failed owing to lack of compelling evidence and Quattrocchi returned to Italy.

India's requests for extradition or serving the Interpol warrant were turned down by Italy, who have requested to see the evidence and prosecute Quattrocchi in Italian courts, CBI sources said.

Source: PTI
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