Quattrocchi wants to sue 'some Indian politicians'

Fresh from legal success in the extradition case against him, Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi now intends to sue unnamed Indian political leaders for carrying out 'political persecution' against him.

Living just outside the Argentinian capital after his arrest in Iguazu international airport in Misiones province, about 1,500 kms from Buenos Aires, on an interpol red corner notice on the basis of a CBI alert, on February 6, the 68-year-old maintains that the case against him is 'political'.

However, Quattrocchi did not elaborate on who he would sue and where.

"I intend to take legal steps against some political leaders who have created this 20-year-old political persecution. The matter is now with my lawyers," he said in an interview to PTI, more than a week after a provincial court rejected India's request for his extradition.

The court has given five days time till early this week for the prosecution to file an appeal against the order and has asked Quattrocchi to stay in Argentina till June 20.

Asked about CBI's extradition attempts, Quattrocchi said he was 'under no doubt that this is a political case'.

"Why am I the only one left in this? There must be a reason, and that is political. This cannot go on. These people have tried to make my life difficult. This is an attempt at political persecution that has now lasted for over 20 years," he said.

Quattrocchi, who had successfully fought an extradition attempt by India in Malaysia a few years ago, was 'surprised but not shocked' that some in India were still seeking his extradition, even though he and his co-accused 'have been cleared of the crimes of conspiracy and cheating that (we) were originally sought for and which now dates back to 21 years'.

He was arrested in Iguazu on February 6 on a warrant for 'falsification of documentation', a charge that Quattrocchi and his Argentine counsel Alejandro Freeland say was itself a fabrication.

"This warrant for falsification of documentation was issued because the CBI could not issue a warrant for corruption or cheating as both charges have been killed in New Delhi and Malaysia," Quattrocchi said.

He claimed that the charges of conspiracy could also not be laid by the CBI against him as 'it takes two people to conspire, a meeting of minds, a place and a time, and the CBI has no evidence of any of these things, further the co-accused in the conspiracy charges have been acquitted'.

He maintained that he has 'never had any contract, or any contact with Bofors'.

In its latest pursuit of the Italian businessman, on February 24, the CBI issued a fresh warrant for his arrest 18 days after Quattrocchi was detained on the now-defunct warrant issued in 1997.

He was released on a bail of $10,000.

Freeland argued in the Eldorado court that Quattrocchi's detention on the May 25, 1997 warrant made his arrest in Argentina illegal.

This view was supported by the judge in his 13-page written ruling issued on June 13.

According to Quattrocchi, Interpol headquarters in Lyon should have objected to this warrant for falsification on the grounds that there was no supporting documentation.

Asked about the falsification charges, Quattrocchi said, "I have never falsified a document in my life, or broken the law of any country."

In his written summary of the verdict, Judge Harichi Doi was unequivocal in saying that it is not his job 'to determine culpability in this case but only to decide whether there is a case for extradition'.

In a strongly-worded conclusion, Judge Doi summarised that the CBI's case was not supported by the required documentation and thus does not comply with Argentine extradition law and the Argentine Constitution.