Spain could hold fraudster Michael Brown for months
Multi-millionaire fraudster Michael Brown could remain in Spain for at least six months while Spanish authorities organise his UK extradition hearing and any appeals, lawyers say.
“We’re not likely to see him for six to nine months if he contests the extradition,” said Nigel Richardson, a London-based solicitor who handled the British extradition of a drug suspect from Spain in 2011. Even if Brown agrees to the extradition, arrangements could still take a month.
“They’ll have an initial hearing and he will indicate if he consents to be deported or not. If yes, the authorities have 21 days to remove him,” Richardson said, adding that as Brown is a high-profile case authorities may decided to move quickly.
The good life
Glasgow-born Brown, 46, posed as a bond dealer and claimed connections with royalty to embezzle an estimated £36m from clients. He stole almost £8m from the former chairman of Manchester United, among others, and lived under the name “Darren Nally” in the Dominican Republic resort town of Punta Cana after fleeing the UK in 2008. Investigators launched an international manhunt and arrested him in January. They are still hunting for about £18m.
In addition to funding an extravagent lifestyle, Brown donated £2.4m to the Lib Dem war chest, the party’s single biggest donation, but the Electoral Commission cleared the party of any wrongdoing as it had accepted the money in good faith.
The Home Office and the Serious Organised Crime Office refused to comment on Brown’s case, even to say what would happen if he does eventually return to the UK. Will he go directly to prison to serve his seven-year term? Can he contest the sentence imposed in absentia? Or does Brown face further charges and a longer prison term for jumping bail? The UK government were not saying.
Playing the odds
Nigel Richardson said some convicted criminals use every legal lifeline to thwart extradition – including arguing that their initial trial was unfair – with the hope of being released rather than returned home.
“You are playing the odds. You are gambling on not being extradited at all,” Richardson said, adding that while time spent in a foreign jail doesn’t count as time served, UK judges will normally take it into consideration when considering sentencing.
Dominican officials said Brown was arrested in January and also accused of defrauding locals, but the alleged victims dropped their complaints so he could be deported to Spain pending extradition to Britain.
European arrest warrant
Brown landed in Madrid on Saturday morning, accompanied by officers from the Dominican,” a City of London Police spokesman said, adding that London police hope to bring him back to the UK via a European arrest warrant.
“The City of London Police is pleased that, after four years evading British justice, Mr Brown is a step closer to returning to the UK to start his prison sentence,” Detective Superintendent Bob Wishart said.