El Dorado (Argentina): An Argentinean court is all set to give its verdict on the Indian demand for extradition of Bofors accused Ottavio Quattrocchi early on Saturday.
Judge Harichi Doi of the First Court adjourned the hearing after lawyers of CBI and the businessman completed their arguments for and against his extradition to India from Argentina.
The arguments were technical in nature, on the jurisdiction of Argentina to detain Quattrocchi on the basis of an Interpol Warrant, sources said.
Indian Ambassador to Argentina, Pramathesh Rath, said that the judge has said that the verdict would be given on Friday evening (which will be Saturday early morning IST).
The extradition trial began four months after the Italian businessman was detained in Misiones province on February 6, while he was on his way to Brazil.
Quattrocchi, who is out on conditional bail, has been maintaining that there was no veracity in the claims against him by the CBI. A two-member CBI team led by Director (Prosecution) SK Sharma is in Argentina to assist the lawyers.
The hearing was fixed by the court in El Dorado after consulting the lawyers of both the CBI and Quattrocchi. Quattrocchi's passport has been impounded and he has been barred from leaving Argentina till a decision on India's plea for his extradition is made by the court.
The hearing of the plea for Quattrocchi's extradition to India began in the Argentinean court on March 23. Quattrocchi had opposed the move, saying it was a politically motivated case. The CBI submitted a 250-page extradition request to the Argentinean government after his arrest.
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