Asean ex, Saxena, to stay in jail
2006-04-28 14:49 ET - Street Wire
by Stockwatch Business Reporter
Fugitive Thai financier Rakesh Saxena has lost his last-ditch effort to get out of jail, and his flight back to Thailand may not be far off, depending on the final appeal of his extradition. Mr. Saxena's stand-in lawyer, Neil Cobb, was in court trying to argue for another review of the financier's bail conditions, conditions that once allowed him to live in relative luxury under self-imposed house arrest.
The house arrest ended in March, when Mr. Saxena lost an appeal of his extradition order to Thailand. With that loss, a judge decided he imposed a flight risk, and ordered him jailed while the extradition fight went to a final appeal.
Mr. Saxena pulled all the stops to try getting out of jail. His lawyer asked the court to consider a judicial review of the jail decision, but a three-judge panel of the court of appeal has struck that down.
Mr. Saxena is wanted in Thailand for allegedly looting $88-million from the Thailand Bank of Commerce before it collapsed in 1996, leading to a financial crisis in that country. Prosecutors say Mr. Saxena, along with the bank's former president, Krirk-kiat Jalichandra, and Saudi arms merchant Adnan Khashoggi, embezzled about $2.2-billlion from the bank.
Mr. Saxena, who was arrested in Whistler, has been fighting extradition for 10 years. He argues he will not get a fair trial in Thailand. His lawyer has until May 3 to file the materials for his final appeal, which will be in the hands of the Supreme Court of Canada. |
