Czech Officials Meet With AG:
By Candia Dames -
Nassau, Bahamas



The Czech press reported on Monday that authorities from the Czech Republic had traveled to The Bahamas to try to convince Bahamian officials to have Czech-born financier Viktor Kozeny extradited to his home country to face fraud charges.

But no Bahamian official would confirm this.

The Czech press said that Deputy Justice Minister Roman Polasek and two members of the Prague state attorney’s office left for The Bahamas on Friday and Mr. Polasek was scheduled to meet with Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Allyson Maynard-Gibson, and prosecutor Francis Cumberbatch, the lead prosecutor in the Kozeny case.

But Mr. Cumberbatch, when contacted by the Bahama Journal on Monday, said he could not confirm or deny such reports.

Last night, the attorney general said that she did meet with the Czech officials, but she said the matter of Kozeny never came up.

The Czech press reported that Mr. Polasek was to try to convince Bahamian authorities that the Czech Republic had submitted the request for extradition before the United States and as such Kozeny, a Bahamas permanent resident, should be sent to the Czech Republic.

The United States is seeking to have Kozeny extradited to face money laundering and bribery charges. It is alleged that he bribed officials of Azerbaijan in an effort to take control of the state-owned oil company, which was undergoing privatization.

But Kozeny, who is being held at the maximum security section of Her Majesty’s Prison, continues to fight the extradition and is due back in court next week.

The extradition treaty that the Bahamas has with the United States allows U.S. officials to seek the extradition of anyone in The Bahamas believed to be guilty of a crime in the U.S. or against the United States.

It also allows Bahamian officials to seek the extradition of suspects residing in the United States.

Under the Extradition Application to Foreign States Order, which lists the countries to whom The Bahamas Extradition Act applies, the Czech Republic is able to seek extradition of anyone in The Bahamas to face charges in that country.

It is viewed as a binding agreement.

The Czech press said it may be good news for Kozeny if he is extradited to the Czech Republic because if he is sentenced in the United States, he may receive a life sentence, but in the Czech Republic he may receive a maximum of 12 years in prison.

Kozeny was indicted in October by a federal grand jury in Manhattan, New York. Bahamian police arrested Kozeny at his Lyford Cay residence after the United States issued the extradition request.

The prosecution has contended that Kozeny, a trained pilot who has citizenship in Venezuela and Ireland, would be a flight risk if released on bail.

Kozeny, Frederic Bourke Jr. and David Pinkerton have been charged in the United States with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which makes it a crime to offer to pay, or to pay, foreign government officials in order to obtain or retain business.

The defendants are also charged with related crimes, including money laundering.

U.S. officials alleged that this particular crime came about as a result of wire transfers of millions of dollars to purchase Azeri vouchers and options, which in turn promoted violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Travel Act count, and the false statements counts each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the alleged violations.

The money laundering conspiracy and substantive counts each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the laundered funds.

Finally, the indictment contains a Forfeiture Allegation seeking the forfeiture by the defendants of $174 million that was allegedly involved in the charged money laundering offenses.

28 March 2006