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British police arrest businessman over collapsed Algerian bank

The Associated Press
Sunday, March 4, 2007

LONDON: British authorities arrested and released on bail exiled Algerian tycoon Abdelmoumen Rafik Khalifa on suspicion of money laundering, police said Sunday.
Khalifa, 40, is being tried in absentia in Algeria as the main defendant among 104 people on trial over the collapse of the country's largest private bank four years ago. Algeria is seeking his extradition from Britain.
Khalifa, the former head and founder of the defunct Khalifa Bank, fled to London in 2003. The case centers on allegations that 3.2 billion Algerian dinars (US$47.6 million, €36.1 million) in funds went missing from the bank's accounts.
A police economic and specialist crime unit arrested Khalifa in London on Feb. 27, a Metropolitan Police official said on condition of anonymity because disclosing the information was not authorized.
Khalifa was released on bail pending further enquiries and ordered to return to a central London police station on March 20, the official said.
In Algeria on Sunday, Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni demanded the extradition of Khalifa.
"There cannot be any serious cooperation between Algeria and Great Britain in other areas if we cannot resolve a case that involves common law," Zerhouni said on the sidelines of a parliamentary session.
"The British feel like they have to move on this case," he added.
Officials from Britain and Algeria late last month took steps toward bilateral accord on legal and commercial issues, which included matters of extradition.

المصدر
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/...ria-Tycoon.php