العقم
saniman
CONFIDENTIAL
cc (3 minutes): Ms & Burner Sone!, HUD, FCO
IN Parker, Legal Advisers, Foo
H of C
HMA
To bring you up to date
Short Elegram
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Minister o/r
en
en the detail on the main points hallows.
M. Madyow
99
Мо шодой рак Me thonis is busy at 25/1 present.
but if the
letter to Paris doesn't enage by the and of the week,
rescind him.
From: Matthew Rycroft
Date: 19 November 1993
Whywift. Pair
19/1 MUCE 3847,
RECE
ния
DES
2 9NOV 1993
you might
22/11 115
INDE
SANIMAN
1.
My minute of 9 November. On his return to Hong Kong from Europe, I asked Mr Grossman (Deputy DPP, Hong Kong) whether he was content with our idea that the Justice Ministry should be informed of the offer to Saniman (that he would be prosecuted on only one or two of the five charges, if he returned to Hong Kong soon, pleaded guilty and gave evidence against Tan). He was content, provided we could square Bertolas (French lawyer for HKG). He gave his agreement on 17 November provided that our approach remained vague.
2.
On 18 November I called on the Justice Ministry:
M. Lebergere (Head of Extradition) and Mme Poitou, in the absence of MM. Gaeremynck and Potocki. I said that we were extremely grateful for the continued cooperation of the Justice Ministry over the Saniman case, particularly in defending the extradition decree against Saniman's appeal. We had gone to great lengths to secure Saniman's extradition to Hong Kong for two reasons: the scale of the fraud, and the political importance and sensitivity of the case in Hong Kong. The key point that made the case sensitive and important was Saniman's links with other alleged financial criminals, including Tan, who was due to appear soon in a Hong Kong court charged with fraud. Saniman had given evidence against Tan confidentially in 1986 in admitting his involvement in all the crimes for which he hoped he would be extradited. The Hong Kong authorities were therefore prepared to prosecute Saniman on less than all five charges, if he returned to Hong Kong soon (ie without continuing with his appeal to the Conseil d'Etat), pleaded guilty and gave evidence against Tan. We were informing the Justice Ministry this not because we wanted them to take any action, but because we thought they should be aware of the wider implications of the Saniman case. Contacts so far were only preliminary. We did not know of the reactions of Saniman's lawyers. My interlocutors took note. They did not ask any
CONFIDENTIAL