Frankel Is Convicted in Germany, Postponing Extradition to the U.S.
A WSJ.COM News Roundup
HAMBURG, Germany -- A regional court on Wednesday convicted
rogue financier Martin Frankel, sentencing him to three years in jail.
Last week, Mr. Frankel confessed that he had
traveled to Germany using a false passport
while on the lam last year and failed to pay
customs taxes on more than $8 million in
diamonds imported to Europe to fuel his flight.
The financier has been trying to avoid extradition to the U.S., where he
faces 36 federal counts of fraud, money laundering, racketeering and
conspiracy. He also faces civil litigation filed by Arkansas, Mississippi,
Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
Mr. Frankel, 45 years old, on Wednesday
reiterated that he would much rather serve time in
a German jail than be sent back to the U.S. In the
U.S., he is accused of running an unlicensed
brokerage that cheated insurance companies out of
$200 million.
In February, a German court ruled that Mr.
Frankel could be extradited, but the criminal court
proceeding must be completed first.
"If Germany extradites me, it will be breaking its
own law," Mr. Frankel told the court during
closing arguments. "Even the most violent criminal here gets the chance to
be rehabilitated and released."
Mr. Frankel's lawyers said that they would decide later if they will appeal.
In addition to the jail sentence, the court ordered Mr. Frankel to surrender
diamonds valued at $1.6 million, which he smuggled into Europe during his
four-month run from the law.
Mr. Frankel had faced up to 10 years in prison on the German charges.
However, prosecutors said they sought a lesser term because the crime
was financial.
Prosecutor Hans-Gerd Meine said any extradition would be impossible
until the German case runs its course, which could include a lengthy
appeals process. He added, however, that Mr. Frankel could be sent back
after the case wraps up. An extradition would require a separate hearing.
German prosecutors said Mr. Frankel evaded paying a 20% customs duty
on more than 500 diamonds found with him when he was arrested in a
Hamburg hotel on Sept. 4, 1999, ending an international manhunt. |
