A trader accused of insider dealing lost a court bid to prevent his extradition to face US criminal charges after London judges rejected his appeal.
(Bloomberg) — A trader accused of insider dealing lost a court bid to prevent his extradition to face US criminal charges after London judges rejected his appeal.
Joseph El Khouri, who holds dual Lebanese-British citizenship, is accused of making almost $2 million trading on inside information. US prosecutors allege that the trader and avid poker player gave lavish gifts to middlemen, including expensive hotel stays in New York, and a yacht charter in Greece, in exchange for tips as part of an international insider trading conspiracy.
British investigators at the Financial Conduct Authority conducted their own investigation before accepting that the US was a more appropriate place to try El Khouri. The FCA dropped the probe because it lacked “a narrator” who could explain the alleged overarching scheme.
The trader had argued that the overwhelming majority of the alleged wrongdoing took place in the UK and that the allegations should be tried there.
“My client is naturally disappointed but we will keep on fighting,” El Khouri’s lawyer Richard Cannon said in a statement. “The judgment gives rise to a number of important issues which we will be seeking permission for the Supreme Court to review.”
El Khouri was charged in 2019, along with five other people, including former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. investment banker Bryan Cohen. The ex-banker was then sentenced to a year of home confinement after pleading guilty.
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