Fugitive banker can be extradited to Thailand

By JEREMY HAINSWORTH Associated Press Writer

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) - The Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday turned down fugitive Thai banker Rakesh Saxena's request to hear his case, ending one of the longest extradition fights in Canadian history.

Saxena has been fighting for 13 years to avoid being returned to Thailand to face charges he embezzled US$88 million from a Bangkok bank. Thailand alleges the fraud contributed to the bank's 1995 collapse and to the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s.

Canadian Department of Justice spokeswoman Lyse Cantin said Saxena would be surrendered but could not disclose details of the transfer for fear of creating a security risk.

A spokesman for the Office of Thailand's Attorney-General Poramej Intarachoomnoom praised the court's decision and said Saxena has over 20 cases pending against him.

Saxena was an adviser for the Bangkok Bank of Commerce when Thai authorities charged him in May 1996 with setting up a series of phony loans to siphon millions from the bank.

Saxena fled Thailand and was arrested later that summer in the British Columbia ski resort town of Whistler.

Saxena, who suffered a stroke last March and uses a wheelchair, was living under house arrest during much of his extradition battle, but has been in jail most recently.

Thailand's statute of limitations on the Securities Exchange Act charges will run out in July 2010. If nothing happens by then, Saxena would be free of the charges.