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Fugitive millionaire seeks U.S. extradition papers
2006-10-25
Fugitive millionaire Jacob "Kobi" Alexander is seeking details of an extradition request filed in Namibia by U.S. authorities who have charged him with manipulating stock options, his lawyer said on Wednesday. Lawyer Rudi Cohrssen told Reuters he and Alexander, who was arrested in the southwest African country last month, saw a magistrate in the capital Windhoek on Wednesday to try to obtain a copy of the extradition request filed by the United States this week. "Unfortunately we did not get the papers nor were the papers given to the court," Cohrssen said, adding that he hoped to obtain the documents later this week. "We need the papers in order to assess the matter to determine how long (the extradition) inquiry would last," he said. "It was decided the state will give us the papers this week. We will meet again on the 16th of November in order to give our comment on the papers and ... to set a date for the inquiry." Alexander, 54, former chief executive and founder of Comverse Technology Inc., was arrested on September 27 but a magistrate later freed him on bail of N$10 million ($1.3 million), rejecting prosecution arguments he could flee. Alexander, who has surrendered his passport, was not required to plead on the U.S. charges at his Namibia hearing. But Cohrssen said that, in his bail application, Alexander had stated that if he were ever extradited he would plead not guilty to the U.S. charges. Alexander and others at the New York-based voicemail-software maker are accused of backdating millions of stock options to days when the shares were trading at lower prices, allowing executives to reap substantial gains, according to details of his indictment. He has been charged with 32 criminal counts, ranging from alleged conspiracy to securities fraud and money laundering and could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted. David Kreinberg, former chief financial officer at Comverse, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of securities fraud in New York on Tuesday, the first Comverse executive to do so.
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