Magistrate Carolita Bethel on Wednesday again delayed making a decision on whether to grant bail to Lyford Cay resident, Viktor Kozeny, and also said that she was not sure if she had the legal authority to do so.
Magistrate Bethel instead adjourned the matter to Friday morning after Prosecutor Francis Cumberbatch said he had received unconfirmed reports that Kozeny – who is a citizen of Ireland and Venezuela – may be a citizen of a third country, which was not named.
The United States wants The Bahamas to extradite Kozeny to face trial there in relation to an alleged scheme to bribe officials of Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil company.
He was indicted in a New York court two weeks ago along with two other men.
Prosecutors here argue that because of Kozeny’s multi-citizenship he would be a flight risk if granted bail.
Kozeny, a permanent resident in The Bahamas, is also a trained pilot, although it remained unclear whether his U.S.-issued pilot license is valid.
On Wednesday, Magistrate Bethel questioned whether she had the authority to grant Kozeny bail after she examined case transcripts and the Extradition Act.
The hearing has dragged on for two weeks due to new information being presented.
Mr. Cumberbatch also addressed the question of whether Kozeny still has diplomatic status.
He said he received two letters from officials of Grenada, which said Kozeny was appointed as an honorary consul to the Bahamas for Grenada.
Mr. Cumberbatch presented the court with a letter from the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Grenada, which stated that Kozeny was appointed to the office on September 28, 1998 and was recalled on December 26, 1999.
Mr. Cumberbatch also presented a letter from the director of financial intelligence in Grenada, which also confirmed that Kozeny had been an honorary ambassador for that country and had been in possession of a diplomatic passport.
According to Mr. Cumberbatch, the letter stated that Kozeny’s passport was seized in 2000 and his diplomatic status was revoked in 2003.
On Friday when Kozeny addressed the court, he had said that to his knowledge he was still a diplomat.
Magistrate Bethel had said it was necessary to clear up the issue of Kozeny’s diplomatic status because diplomats are afforded certain privileges.
After Mr. Cumberbatch revealed that Kozeny may have a third citizenship, Magistrate Bethel gave both sides time to confirm whether this was true.
Kozeny is being represented by Philip “Brave” Davis, but has other high-profile attorneys like Brian Moree on his legal team.
Czech reporters were present at Wednesday’s hearing and more are expected when the hearing resumes on Friday.
At the end of Wednesday’s preceding, one of the reporters attempted to interview Kozeny in his native tongue, but police officers told them that it was not allowed.
The reporters told The Bahama Journal that Kozeny had indicated that he was okay.
By: Stephen Gay, The Bahama Journal
