Fraud--Conrad Black

Almost three months to the day that two of his business associates were indicted on mail and wire fraud charges, Lord Conrad Black has himself been indicted on mail and wire fraud charges.^[1] Three other individuals—Hollinger Inc. CFO John Boultbee, Hollinger general counsel Peter Atkinson, and Hollinger corporate counsel Mark Kipnis—were also indicted, along with Ravelston, Lord Black’s former company.^[2] Mr. Boultbee and Lord Black were charged with 8 counts of mail and wire fraud, Mr. Atkinson with 6 charges of mail and wire fraud, Mr. Kipnis with 9 charges of mail and wire fraud, and Ravelston with the same 7 counts of mail and wire fraud it faces when charges were brought against it in August.^[3]

We discuss the details of the schemes involved here.

As Lord Black is currently located, it is thought, in the United Kingdom, US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is offering Lord Black the opportunity to turn himself in.^[4] If Lord Black does not do so, then his extradition will be requested.^[5]

The extradition request would likely be granted. The Extradition Act of 2003, which was passed in part to make it easier for the United States to obtain the extradition of terrorism suspects, has primarily been used on white-collar criminal defendants.^[6] When the new extradition treaty was drawn up, the negotiators included a dual-criminality component which allows extradition when an offense is punishable in both countries with deprivation of liberty for more than one year. Frauds are crimes in both countries.

If Lord Black does decide to contest his extradition, the process could take years.

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[1] Conrad Black, Ex-Hollinger Chief, Indicted for Fraud, Bloomberg, Nov. 17, 2005, available here.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] See, e.g., our posts on the Extradition Act of 2003, here and here.