US seeks to extradite Irish passport holder
Kozeny, a 42-year-old businessman born in the Czech Republic, is wanted by the US authorities over his alleged role in defrauding investors of €150 million in a scheme linked to a state oil company in Azerbaijan.
However, he is likely to remain in the Bahamas even after the court’s ruling as the local authorities also consider a request for his extradition from the Czech Republic.
Kozeny holds Irish citizenship as a result of obtaining at least six Irish passports as part of the controversial, discontinued “passports for investment” scheme during the 1990s.
Prosecution lawyers appearing before a court in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, have recently argued that documents provided by Kozeny’s former associates, prove that he was involved in conspiracy, bribery and money laundering. However, Kozeny’s legal team have insisted that Bahamian law does not allow extradition for any of the offences under which their client is charged.
Kozeny, who has been dubbed the Pirate of Prague and the Bouncing Czech as a result of his dubious business practices, is charged with violating the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act which makes it a crime for anyone who offers to pay a foreign government official for a favour.
The businessman has been held in custody in a high security prison in the Bahamas since his arrest last October on the islands where he has lived as a tax exile since 1994.
He is also wanted by the Czech authorities over his alleged role in extorting more than €332m from around 80,000 former clients in the Czech Republic in another controversial privatisation scheme.
The Czech government has also formally sought Kozeny’s extradition from the Bahamas on related charges.
A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman has confirmed that Kozeny has not sought any consular assistance from the Irish authorities.
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