LONDON: The Westminster Magistrates Court today (Thursday) has ordered the extradition of renowned Pakistani businessman and Abraaj founder Arif Naqvi to United States to face charges of fraud and money-laundering.
Senior District Judge Emma Arbuthnot said that his safety and rights will not be at risk in the US jails, rejecting the arguments of Naqvi’s lawyer during the extradition hearings.
He can choose to appeal the decision under section 92 of the Extradition Act 2003 once the Home Secretary makes one. The decision comes weeks after a similar request for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was blocked by Judge Vanessa Baraitser.
The US request to extradite Assange was blocked on basis of the 49-year-old Australian editor’s deteriorating physical and mental health conditions, with District Judge Vanessa Baraitser saying she refused due to “fears that he could commit suicide”, similar in Naqvi’s case as his lawyers have publicly stated during the proceedings before the chief magistrate, Senior District Judge Emma Arbuthnot.
Earlier in April 2019, Naqvi was arrested in London on a request from the US over allegations of money laundering, racketeering, and fraud. The Pakistani national faces close to an incredible 300 years in jail on 16 counts if extradited to America.
