Becchetti Faces Possible Extradition to Albania

Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court in the UK on December 7 for a procedural hearing that will consider an extradition request by the Albanian authorities.

Becchetti, 49, was arrested in London by officers from the UK's Metropolitan Police Extradition Unit on 26 October on behalf of the Albanian authorities.

The Albanian government issued an arrest warrant for him in June on charges of fraud and money laundering between January 2012 and October 2013.

He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on the same day of his arrest and was released on bail after handing over his travel documents.

According to a report published by the UK Daily Mail news website, Becchetti is under curfew between 11pm and 5am and is not allowed to leave the country.

The Albanian authorities issued the arrest warrant following a two-year investigation into the allegations. Prosecutors have seized his assets in Albania, including bank accounts and company shares in his name - including his commercial TV station Agon Channel.

The charges centre on his involvement with the Kalivaci hydropower plant. Becchetti obtained the concession to construct a new plant with the Italian company BEG on the Vjosa River in southern Albania.

Becchetti strongly denies the charges, which he described as "demonstrably groundless, improperly motivated and unsupported by any evidence" in a written statement.

He has also claimed that the charges against him are the result of stories broadcast by Agon Channel that criticised the Albanian government.

"Because of Mr Becchetti's ownership of Agonset Shpk, an Albanian company operating the Agon Channel TV station, which advocates...