CONFIDENTIAL
FM FCO
TO DESKBY 261800Z PARIS
TELNO 166
OF 261522Z APRIL 93
INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG
CONFIDENTIAL
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1. Following is text of Letter which the Attorney General has agreed to send to the French Minister of Justice:
BEGINS
May I send you my warm congratulations on your appointment as Minister of Justice and Garde des Sceaux. There have been close relations between my Department and your Ministry and I have benefited personally from valuable discussions both with your predecessors and senior officials. I much look forward to making
your acquaintance and hope that we shall be able to build on this promising conjuncture of Franco-British relations.
I apologise for combining my congratulations with a letter bringing to your attention a case of considerable importance and The case sensitivity for the British and Hong Kong Governments.
is I know at present under consideration by your officials. This is the case of the extradition of Dr Rais Bin Saniman, whose extradition is sought in respect of a series of extremely serious frauds. The request received an avis favorable by the Chambre d'Accusation de la Cour d'Appel at Versailles in 1990, and this
However was confirmed by the Cour de Cassation on 30 March 1991. extradition has subsequently not been granted by the Ministry of Justice as a result of certain reservations. We believe that the decision may be based on a misunderstanding, and in consequence we have registered a Recours Gracieux and in November 1992 have brought the matter before the Conseil d'Etat. We have sought to keep the Ministry of Justice and the Quai d'Orsay informed throughout.
Having now had the case brought to my personal attention by the authorities in Hong Kong it occurs to me that you may be assisted by further detail and explanation in order to satisfy you (a) of the extreme seriousness of the charges and the defendant's part in the general conspiracy open square brackets criminality
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