Agency unsure of challenging ruling

NEW DELHI: Rebuffed by an Argentinean court that dismissed its plea to extradite Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, an accused in the Bofors payoff scam, the CBI was Friday unsure of whether it would challenge the ruling.

The first judge of El Dorado in Misiones province of Argentina, judge Harichi Doi, on Thursday cited the validity of a 1997 Interpol Red Corner notice as one of the reasons for rejecting the extradition plea. In a double whammy for the CBI, the court also ordered the prosecution to pay Quattrocchi’s legal fees.

The Argentine court cited a similar rejection by a Malaysian court and the Indian government’s own no objection certificate to British authorities last year to defreeze Quattrocchi’s frozen account in London. After the adverse ruling, red-faced CBI officials here went into a huddle to examine the possibilities of mounting another challenge.

“We have just received the court’s judgement and are closely examining its implications. We still have some days to take a decision on filing an appeal against this judgement,” a CBI official said.