US fugitive to be extradited

After more than a decade-long chase, an American fugitive will finally be deported to his home country. A Delhi court has ordered the extradition of Dan Boakye Agyeman, a lawyer, who masterminded a bank fraud in California in 2000.

After more than a decade-long chase, an American fugitive will finally be deported to his home country. A Delhi court has ordered the extradition of Dan Boakye Agyeman, a lawyer, who masterminded a bank fraud in California in 2000.

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Agyeman fled from the United States following orders of his arrest. He is a citizen of the United States and Ghana. Ordering the extradition, additional chief metropolitan magistrate (ACMM) said, "The offence of bank fraud and possession of counterfeit securities for which the fugitive criminal has been charged by the United States District Court are also offences in Indian Penal Code." The court observed that it is an undisputed fact that there exists a valid extradition treaty between India and the United States.

Advocate Naveen Matta appearing for the ministry of external affairs (MEA) told the court prima facie this is a strong case for deportation as the accused, after the Interpol issued a Red Corner notice against him, fled the country.

According to MEA, Agyeman was an attorney with a licence to practice law in the State of California. In 2000, he deposited two cheques totalling $309,000 in his attorney-client trust at a Bank of America branch, and both cheques were flagged as counterfeits. The bank investigated the issue. According to the bank, the first cheque was a valid cheque from Intel Corporation that had been stolen and altered, and the second cheque was a counterfeit drawn on the account of a car dealership.

Agyeman was arrested on January 21, 2011, at Mumbai International Airport in pursuance to the Red Corner Notice. He told the court that he is willing to go back to America to stand the trial.