A man from south Trinidad, wanted in the United States for defrauding that Government, has agreed to his extradition.
In a press release issued, the Office of the Attorney General said that acting AG Stuart Young signed a warrant of committal for Daveanan Sookdeo yesterday as his committal proceedings before acting Chief Magistrate Maria Busby-Earle-Caddle ended on Tuesday afternoon.
AG Faris Al-Rawi had signed off with the authority to proceed with the extradition after receiving the US’ request on July 28. Sookdeo was arrested hours later in Debe by Sgt Herman Narace of the Interpol Bureau.
When he was taken before Busby-Earle-Caddle to start the committal proceedings on August 2, Sookdeo indicated that he was not opposed to his extradition.
When the case came up for hearing next before Busby Earle-Caddle on Tuesday, she took evidence from Sookdeo, read the Warrant of Committal to him and committed him to the Port-of-Spain State Prison pending his removal to the US to face the charges.
Sookdeo is accused of making false claims to the US Government, stealing US Government money and Inter-state and foreign transportation of money obtained by fraud.
The offences allegedly occurred between 2006 and 2010 while Sookdeo was living in the US and Canada. He allegedly fled to Trinidad before he was arrested.
The offences carry sentences of between five and 10 years in prison if Sookdeo is convicted.
In the release the AG’s office hailed Sookdeo’s case as a victory for it and its Central Authority Unit, which handles all extradition requests.
“The Attorney General is committed to working with law enforcement agencies in the Caribbean and other international bodies to confront and fight the scourge of crime,” the release said.