Posted on 08/14/2002 5:16:09 PM PDT by RCW2001
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NEW YORK, Aug 14 (AFP) - An Israeli citizen accused of insider trading and fraud in the United States has been extradited by Israel to New York to stand trial, a Manhattan federal prosecutor said Wednesday.
Michael Akva, 36, was arrested in March 2000 and indicted for profiting from confidential information supplied to him by an employee who worked for both Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse First Boston, said James Comey said in a statement.
Akva bought and sold stocks of companies he knew the two banks were working with on merger and acquisition deals.
Released from jail on bail, Akva fled to Israel, hoping his Israeli citizenship would protect him from extradition. But he was arrested in Israel in April 2001, pursuant to an international arrest warrant issued by the United States.
The Israeli Supreme Court ruled on July 17, 2002 that a new extradition law passed by the Israeli parliament on April 19, 1999 allowed for his extradition.
Since Akva was born in Stockholm, and had never been an Israeli resident before his arrest in the United States, he did not have the right to serve out any eventual sentence in an Israeli prison, according to the statement.
If he is found guilty, Akva could be sentenced to up to 15 years in jail and fined several million dollars.
Sixteen other people were indicted in connection with this case, all of which plead guilty, Comey said.
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