Wednesday 8 March 2023

Abraaj’s Arif Naqvi Mounts Fresh Challenge to US Extradition - Bloomberg

Abraaj’s Arif Naqvi Mounts Fresh Challenge to US Extradition - Bloomberg


Lawyers for Abraaj Group’s Arif Naqvi, the founder of what was once the Middle East’s largest private equity fund, said there was “fresh evidence” that could overturn the UK’s decision to extradite him to the US to face fraud and racketeering charges.

There is new evidence on “serious deterioration” in the detention facility, where he would be housed in the US, his lawyer argued in a London court on Tuesday. Naqvi is also at risk of suicide if held in those conditions, he said.

Naqvi is seeking the UK High Court’s permission to appeal a 2021 court decision that said he should be sent to the US to face criminal charges. He is accused by prosecutors of hiding a liquidity crisis at his firm, while siphoning off hundreds of millions of dollars for his family.

Lawyers for the US countered that any changes to his detention would not materially alter the his conditions of stay. Naqvi is attempting to raise new arguments “smuggled under the guise of updating evidence,” they said.

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