When the FBI Comes Calling…®
August 20, 2005
Will Black face charges next?
Canadian Press
ORONTO -- Former Canadian newspaper tycoon Conrad Black seems destined to face long - and expensive - legal wrangling if U.S. authorities lay charges and try to extradite him from his home in London, legal experts say.
Blockbuster news in Chicago that Black's longtime associate David Radler has been indicted on securities fraud charges - and plans to plead guilty and co-operate with authorities - suggests Black could soon be next in the line of fire of U.S. law enforcement authorities eager to crack down on corporate crime.
But U.S. authorities need to move quickly to lay charges against Black to get a potentially lengthy case started, said Douglas McNabb, senior principal at McNabb Associates, a Houston law firm specializing in international extradition.
McNabb said he's heard rumours that U.S. authorities could announce charges within a week.
Charges would lead authorities to request Black's extradition and to put a notice of the U.S. arrest warrant on the international police network.
There's little reason to see why Britain would prevent Black's extradition, McNabb said, since in 2003 the country changed its own extradition laws allowing the U.S. to extradite people as long as they could prove charges were pending.
This article can also be found at Edmonton Sun.