New Delhi: The hearing of the case on extradition of Italian businessmen Ottavio Quattrocchi, the prime accused in the 64-crore Bofors kickbacks case, is to begin on Friday.
A federal court in El Dorado city, 1500 km from Buenos Aires, has finished examining the 250-page report submitted by the CBI to the Argentine Foreign affairs office.
The extradition papers filed by the CBI were forwarded to the court in El Dorado on March 6.
Lilian Delgado, a prosecutor given by the Argentinian government, would represent India during the extradition trial. Alejandro Freeland, on the other hand, would be defending Quattrocchi.
Judge Mario Hachiro-Doi will be hearing the case in El Dorado court. If Quattrocchi is extradited, he will face trial in India. He faces charges are Section 420 (cheating) and 120B (conspiracy), which is an extraditable offense.
The Italian businessman also has the option of appealing in higher courts after the trial court's verdict.
A CBI team, which is 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 around.
Quattrocchi, who was detained on February 6 in Argentina on the basis of an Interpol red-corner notice, was released on bail on February 26. He has, however, been barred from leaving the country.
The Argentinian authorities have impounded Quattrocchi's passport. “He must be in Argentina for the entire duration of investigation. He is not allowed to leave Argentina,” sources said.
Quattrocchi had escaped India in 1993 to United Kingdom while CBI was still preparing to charge him in the case. The Central agency finally got the necessary papers from Switzerland and filed a case against him in 1999.
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