canada.com
PRISONER IN HIS OWN HOME COURTEOUS, OPEN TO INTERVIEWS
Fugitive's home looks like the rest on the block, but security guards answer his door
David Baines
Vancouver Sun
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Rakesh Saxena doesn't act like Thailand's most wanted financial fugitive.
The 53-year-old native of India is very short, with bug eyes that are magnified by dark, large-framed glasses.
He is extremely courteous and friendly. He unhesitantly accepts interview requests and readily receives reporters in bare feet and open-necked shirts at his home in the upscale Terra Nova subdivision of Richmond.
From the outside, there is nothing to distinguish his house from others in the neighbourhood. But knock on the door and you will be met by one of the security guards who is charged by the court with ensuring the 53-year-old financial fugitive remains a prisoner in his own home.
In May 1996, Thai authorities charged Saxena with embezzling $88 million from the Bangkok Bank of Commerce where he worked as treasury adviser.
By that time, he had moved to Vancouver where he was running a string of Vancouver Stock Exchange companies. Thai authorities made a high-level request to the Canadian government to apprehend him.
On July 7, 1996, a posse of RCMP officers set up a sting operation and arrested him at the Chateau Whistler while he was lunching with some Thai police officers. He was carrying a briefcase stuffed with $100,000 in hard cash which, he readily admitted, he intended to use to bribe the Thai officers.
Saxena was hustled off to jail, but within several days he was released on bail pending the outcome of extradition proceedings. He was now free to develop his business interests, which were as eclectic as they were exotic.
One was a bauxite prospect in Sierra Leone, which he wanted to sell to a VSE company called Global Explorations Corp. However, his plans were interrupted when Sierra Leone's president, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, who had granted the licence, was deposed by rebel forces.
Saxena figured that if he could help get Kabbah back in power, he would not only get back his bauxite licence, Kabbah might give him some diamond concessions. So he sent Kabbah $1 million "just to buy the goodwill of the country" and began negotiating with a South-African-based mercenary force called Executive Outcomes to provide the necessary muscle to get Kabbah reinstated. However, the plans were put on hold when word of his proposed counter-coup leaked, spoiling the element of surprise.
Many Canadians were shocked that someone who was the subject of an extradition hearing could plot coups in Third World countries, but Saxena coolly noted there was nothing in the terms of his bail that prevented him from engaging in such dealings.
In January 1998, RCMP re-arrested Saxena for allegedly trying to obtain a phony passport and threatening a witness. Attempts to obtain his release were rejected until June 1998, when his lawyer, Russ Chamberlain, persuaded then-Judge Wally Oppal to approve a novel form of house arrest.
Saxena would provide $1-million cash bail and a $1-million surety, then confine himself to his False Creek condo. He would not leave the premises except to deal with medical matters, go to court or see his lawyer, and he would not ingest any drugs or alcohol. To ensure he did not breach the terms of his bail, he would pay an estimated $30,000 per month to Intercon Security for round-the-clock supervision.
Prisoner in his own home courteous, open to interviews
The extradition hearing started in October 1996. Comfortably ensconced in his luxury condo, Saxena raised every possible objection, including a claim that, if he was returned to Thailand, he would be extra-judicially killed as a scapegoat.
Meanwhile, he became engaged in the dubious business of acquiring shell companies, marrying them with dot-com businesses and floating them on the virtually unregulated OTC Bulletin Board in the U.S.
In 2000, the stock market collapsed and along with it Saxena's flimsy stock deals. He left huge unsatisfied debits in his brokerage accounts. At least four brokerage firms filed lawsuits, but he claims many of them were active participants in these deals and have not been anxious to press the matter. He says, "most of the cases just fizzled out."
In September 2000 -- nearly four years after the extradition hearing began -- B.C. Supreme Court Judge Frank Maczko rendered his verdict: "I find there is evidence on which a trier of fact, properly instructed and acting reasonably, could convict Mr. Saxena of fraud, which is an extraditable offence."
But it wasn't until November 2003 -- more than three years after Maczko's decision -- that then-federal justice minister Martin Cauchon ordered Saxena to surrender to Thai authorities. "There is a compelling case against Mr. Saxena," Cauchon said at the time.
Saxena was immediately taken into custody, but released 31/2 hours later after B.C. Court of Appeal Judge Thomas Braidwood agreed to a continuation of existing bail terms, most notably 24-hour house arrest, pending the outcome of an appeal.
That appeal is now scheduled to be heard in September, but even if the appeal court upholds Maczko's decision, the case is almost certain to drag on. Saxena says he will seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, and given the many problematic points of law that an appeal would present, he is confident the high court will agree to hear the case, which could add another two years to the case.
The monumental delays have exasperated many observers: "I think the system is appalling," says John Woods, editor of Canada Stockwatch, who has been following the Saxena saga.
"I also think it's appalling that voters support the system, but once it's in place, he is entitled to use and abuse the system."
Last year, Saxena relocated to Richmond where he remains free to conduct business. He is electronically linked to the outside world and his phones are answered by security personnel who give no indication they are guards.
dbaines@png.canwest.com
THE ARCHITECT: RAKESH SAXENA, 53
Wanted in Thailand for allegedly embezzling $88 million from the Bangkok Bank of Commerce. Has been fighting extradition for nine years. Under detention at his Richmond-area home for past six years. Structured the stock scheme, but insists he wasn't a party to any of the contractual arrangements.
THE LAWYERS: JACK MARTIN, 54 AND CRAIG IWATA, 49
Partners in now-defunct Vancouver law firm Martin & Associates, where investors were directed to send their money. Relinquished their licences and agreed in July 2004 not to reapply for membership in the B.C. Law Society for 10 years.
THE ASSISTANT:
A 55-year-old former Vancouver stockbroker. Made headlines in 1990 when she was caught by an ABC-TV camera making outrageous claims about a VSE penny stock. Described as Saxena's "operations manager."
THE BOILER ROOM OPERATORS
- Raoul Berthaumieu, chairman of General Commerce Bank AG. Pleaded guilty to felony bank fraud in 1991 after writing $1.6 million in worthless cheques.
- Regis Possino, disbarred lawyer convicted of drug trafficking in California in 1979 and sentenced to one year in jail.
- Sherman Mazur, pleaded guilty to seven counts of bankruptcy and tax fraud in California in 1993, jailed for six years and fined $250,000.
THE FORENSIC ACCOUNTANT
William Kinsey, 70, chartered accountant. Considered one of the deans of forensic accountancy. Helped investigate many civil and criminal matters, including the Bingogate scandal. Prepared 20-page report tracking flow of investor funds through Martin & Associates.
THE SHELL COMPANY SUPPLIER
Tom Coldicutt, former Vancouver broker, suspended for five years in 1985 for trading violations and cited by SEC in 1991 for allegedly selling unregistered stock. Provided some of the shell companies that were sold to investors. Also associated with World Trade Financial Corp. of La Jolla, Calif., which sold some of the stock to investors.
© The Vancouver Sun 2005 |
