Q extradition paper reaches court

New Delhi: The Argentine government on Monday sent the extradition papers for Bofors payoff accused Ottavio Quattrocchi to the court hearing the case.

However, the Italian government's backing to Ottavio Quattrocchi is making his extradition difficult.

CNN-IBN has learnt that the Italian government is using all the means to help Quattrocchi.

Quattrocchi's lawyer is extremely confident of his chances. Speaking to CNN-IBN in Buenos Aires, he said that the fact that the Indian Government let the Italian businessman's accounts in London to be de frozen proves that India has a weak case.

He also said that the recent judgments on the case in India will also help his client.

He pointed to India's failure to extradite him from Malaysia as a positive precedent.

Court documents in Spanish show that Quattrocchi’s conditional release in Argentina was given after the Italian embassy in Buenos Aires gave a written assurance to the court on Quattrocchi's behalf.

Once these documents reach the court, the court proceedings will begin on India's request for the extradition of Quattrocchi.

However, legal experts in Argentina say that it might take up to two years for India to get Quattrocchi extradited or the case to be decided one way or the other.

For, the Italian businessman has the option of appealing in two other higher courts after the trial court's verdict.

The CBI team, which is already in Buenos Aires to fight the legal battle, has expressed hope that it will be able to get the key Bofors accused extradited this time.

The Indian side will have to show that Quattrocchi faces charges that are compatible with Argentine law and that the statute of limitations would not be violated, legal experts in Argentina say.

Quattrocchi, 68, was detained in Argentina in early February under a 1997 Interpol warrant. A court released him on bail last week, but barred him from leaving the country.

Indian investigators alleged that Quattrocchi took $7 million in bribes as a middleman in the $1.2 billion purchase of artillery from Swedish arms maker Bofors AB in 1986 for the Indian army.