The deadline for signing off on the extradition case against corruption accused former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner expires this afternoon.
The T&T Guardian understands up to late yesterday Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, who only took up duties this week after being sworn in last Wednesday, had not signed the authority to proceed in Warner’s case, which is required to kick off the extradition proceedings before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar.
Al-Rawi did not respond yesterday to calls seeking confirmation on the status of Warner’s case in light of the deadline.
A legal source close to the case said yesterday although Al-Rawi only had a limited period of time to consider the documents, the exercise of his discretion would be guided by comprehensive legal advice on the issue which was obtained from the State’s legal team which includes a pair of British Queen’s Counsel, two Senior Counsel and a handful of other local attorneys.
This newspaper was reliably informed that the Central Authority Unit, the division of the Office of the AG which co-ordinates and facilitates extradition requests, received the advice a little over a week ago with the documents being made available to Al-Rawi when he assumed office.
In the event Al-Rawi fails to sign the document by 4 pm today, his office will have to seek another extension from Ayers-Caesar, who Warner is scheduled to reappear before next Monday.
If their application is eventually refused, Ayers-Caesar will then have to quash the proceedings against Warner and return his passport which was seized when he was granted bail after being detained on a provisional warrant in July. The US will then be forced to restart the process afresh.
However, when contacted yesterday a legal source with extensive experience in extradition cases claimed that any further delay in Warner’s case may potentially open the door for him (Warner) to claim an abuse of process in separate legal proceedings.
Asked yesterday to comment on the delay, Warner in a brief telephone interview said: “I have no comment to make or no interview to give on this matter.”
About Warner’s case
Warner, 72, of Cynthia Drive, Five Rivers, Arouca, is accused of 12 charges related to fraud, racketeering and for engaging in illegal wire transfers. The offences are alleged to have taken place in the United States, T&T and other jurisdictions between 1990 and when Warner quit Fifa in June 2011.
He is one of 14 former executives of world football’s governing body who were indicted on a series of charges after an investigation into corruption in football conducted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice.
Warner surrendered to police in May after a provisional warrant was issued for his arrest when US authorities announced the conclusion of their extensive investigation.
Warner spent one night on remand at the Port-of-Spain State Prison before he was able to access his $2.5 million bail.
It took US authorities almost their entire 60-day deadline to foward their official request to the Office of the Attorney General, which is needed to prepare the authority to proceed. The documents arrived in T&T in late July.
In 2013, Warner resigned from his post of national security minister and UNC chairman after the publication of a report from Concacaf’s Integrity Committee showed financial mismanagement during his long tenure as the regional body’s president. Warner also resigned as Chaguanas West MP but later regained the seat in a by-election.
He then formed the Independent Liberal Party (ILP) but resigned as its leader after it failed to secure any seats in last week’s general election.
About Warner’s case
Warner, 72, of Cynthia Drive, Five Rivers, Arouca, is accused of 12 charges related to fraud, racketeering and for engaging in illegal wire transfers. The offences are alleged to have taken place in the United States, T&T and other jurisdictions between 1990 and when Warner quit Fifa in June 2011.
He is one of 14 former executives of world football’s governing body who were indicted on a series of charges after an investigation into corruption in football conducted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice.
Warner surrendered to police in May after a provisional warrant was issued for his arrest when US authorities announced the conclusion of their extensive investigation.
Warner spent one night on remand at the Port-of-Spain State Prison before he was able to access his $2.5 million bail.
It took US authorities almost their entire 60-day deadline to foward their official request to the Office of the Attorney General, which is needed to prepare the authority to proceed. The documents arrived in T&T in late July.
In 2013, Warner resigned from his post of national security minister and UNC chairman after the publication of a report from Concacaf’s Integrity Committee showed financial mismanagement during his long tenure as the regional body’s president. Warner also resigned as Chaguanas West MP but later regained the seat in a by-election.
He then formed the Independent Liberal Party (ILP) but resigned as its leader after it failed to secure any seats in last week’s general election.