This article first published by Ohmynews on 2006-08-15 15:49 (KST)
According to a press release from the Vietnamese Embassy in Brussels, the Belgium Supreme Court will hold an open hearing on Aug. 18 to consider extraditing Nguyen Buu Huy, a Vietnamese businessman, to the U.S.
Huy, deputy director of An Giang Agriculture and Food Import/Export Company (An Giang Afiex), was arrested in Brussels on May 10 at the request of the U.S. attorney's office for the northern district of Florida while attending the European Seafood Exposition.
Authorities have accused An Giang Afiex of trade fraud and tax evasion after the company changed its catfish labels (tra and basa) to grouper labels to avoid taxes. Huy, who directly handled commercial transactions, must stand trial at state court in Florida. If found guilty, Huy may face five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Besides An Giang Afiex and Huy, authorities also decided to prosecute two U.S. companies, a U.S. citizen, and three other Vietnamese companies involved in the case.
From May 2002 to April 2005, U.S. customs seized more than 110 metric tons of tra and basa that were being imported and sold in the U.S. under different labels.
The U.S. criminalized the case, requested Interpol in Belgium to make the arrests, and plans to extradite Huy to stand trial in Florida. Under a 1901 extradition agreement between the two countries, the U.S. has 75 days to provide Belgian authorities with documents related to Huy's case. After that, the Belgian court and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will examine the documents and the legal foundation before deciding whether to extradite Mr. Huy.
Pascal Van Der Veeren, Huy's Belgium lawyer, who specializes in extradition, said the evidence provided by the U.S. is not convincing enough to convict Huy or to extradite him to the U.S. as a criminal.
However, it is quite possible that Huy will be extradited to Florida to be tried under the state's laws. A representative from An Giang Afiex admitted that when dealing with Panhandle Seafood, some consignments of tra fish were labeled as grouper at the request of the U.S. importer -- in violation of U.S. laws.
Le Cong Dinh, a lawyer with a Washington, D.C., law firm, said the wanted notice was in accordance with U.S. law, making it a legal case that cannot be settled through diplomatic or other channels.
In Vietnam, the Ministry of Police recently released a report on their official investigation of the case. They found that some Vietnamese seafood exporters had indeed changed product labels as requested by two U.S. companies, Panhandle Trading and Panhandle Seafood. The report stated that the change of label is a clear violation of Vietnamese and international laws.
Vietnam hopes to join the World Trade Organization later this year. After Huy's arrest, the Ministry of Fisheries and the Vietnamese Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers tightened control over the labeling of seafood products to ensure that they accord with international practice.
According to a press release from the Vietnamese Embassy in Brussels, the Belgium Supreme Court will hold an open hearing on Aug. 18 to consider extraditing Nguyen Buu Huy, a Vietnamese businessman, to the U.S.
Huy, deputy director of An Giang Agriculture and Food Import/Export Company (An Giang Afiex), was arrested in Brussels on May 10 at the request of the U.S. attorney's office for the northern district of Florida while attending the European Seafood Exposition.
Authorities have accused An Giang Afiex of trade fraud and tax evasion after the company changed its catfish labels (tra and basa) to grouper labels to avoid taxes. Huy, who directly handled commercial transactions, must stand trial at state court in Florida. If found guilty, Huy may face five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Besides An Giang Afiex and Huy, authorities also decided to prosecute two U.S. companies, a U.S. citizen, and three other Vietnamese companies involved in the case.
From May 2002 to April 2005, U.S. customs seized more than 110 metric tons of tra and basa that were being imported and sold in the U.S. under different labels.
The U.S. criminalized the case, requested Interpol in Belgium to make the arrests, and plans to extradite Huy to stand trial in Florida. Under a 1901 extradition agreement between the two countries, the U.S. has 75 days to provide Belgian authorities with documents related to Huy's case. After that, the Belgian court and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will examine the documents and the legal foundation before deciding whether to extradite Mr. Huy.
Pascal Van Der Veeren, Huy's Belgium lawyer, who specializes in extradition, said the evidence provided by the U.S. is not convincing enough to convict Huy or to extradite him to the U.S. as a criminal.
However, it is quite possible that Huy will be extradited to Florida to be tried under the state's laws. A representative from An Giang Afiex admitted that when dealing with Panhandle Seafood, some consignments of tra fish were labeled as grouper at the request of the U.S. importer -- in violation of U.S. laws.
Le Cong Dinh, a lawyer with a Washington, D.C., law firm, said the wanted notice was in accordance with U.S. law, making it a legal case that cannot be settled through diplomatic or other channels.
In Vietnam, the Ministry of Police recently released a report on their official investigation of the case. They found that some Vietnamese seafood exporters had indeed changed product labels as requested by two U.S. companies, Panhandle Trading and Panhandle Seafood. The report stated that the change of label is a clear violation of Vietnamese and international laws.
Vietnam hopes to join the World Trade Organization later this year. After Huy's arrest, the Ministry of Fisheries and the Vietnamese Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers tightened control over the labeling of seafood products to ensure that they accord with international practice.
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