Court backs Algerian extradition

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A UK court has approved the extradition of the Algerian former head of a business empire that collapsed in a massive scandal.

A lawyer for Abdelmoumene Rafik Khalifa, the former businessman, told AFP news agency that he would appeal.

The extradition must also be approved by UK Home Secretary Alan Johnson.

Khalifa was convicted in absentia to life in prison for criminal association, corruption, abuse of trust, and forgery in Algeria in 2007.

Judge Timothy Workman said that if he were extradited, the 2007 sentence would be annulled and he would have the right to a new trial.

Khalifa has lived in the UK since 2003.

He was initially detained under a European arrest warrant issued by a court in France, which wanted to extradite him over allegations of embezzlement.

In the 1990s he created a business empire spanning banking, transport and the media, becoming a rare symbol of entrepreneurial success within Algeria.

Khalifa Bank collapsed after funds worth tens of millions of dollars were found to be missing.