Jabir Moti's suicide attempts used as defence against extradition

Jabir Moti described as a highranking member of Dawood Ibrahims D Company worldwide criminal network suffers from depression and has made at least three suicide attempts in the past which would make his extradition to the US particularly oppressive a UK court was told on MondayThe 51yearold Pakistani national who appeared in the dock at Westminster Magistrates Court in London at the start of his trial after his arrest by Scotland Yards Extradition Unit last year faces extradition to the US after an FBI probe charged him with money laundering extortion and conspiracy to import unlawful substances such as heroinMoti who is referred to during the court proceedings under different names like Jabir Motiwala and Jabir Siddiq is accused of laundering around USD 14 million to date on behalf of the D Company headed by Dawood Ibrahim a key accused in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts caseMr Motiwala a highranking member of D Company travels extensively and conducts meetings for its head one Dawood Ibrahim an Indian Muslim who along with his brother Anis Ibrahim are fugitives from Indian justice said barrister John Hardy appearing on behalf of the US governmentIn his opening statement for the trial Hardy laid out details of the D Company as an international criminal organisation based in India Pakistan and the UAE which carried out illegal activities in the US including narcotics trafficking and extortionHe told Judge John Zani that the FBIs investigations dating back to 2009 involved a series of confidential sources who held undercover meetings and telephone and email interactions with Moti which implicate him as a lead money launderer for the D CompanyMotis legal team led by barrister Edward Fitzgerald raised the issue of passage of time as part of his defence claiming that the alleged offences date back many years and the long delay between 2014 and 2018 had not been explained by the US authoritiesHowever the crux of the defence case seemed to focus on Motis mental health condition which they claimed would be exacerbated on being held in adverse prison conditions in New YorkHe has a long and documented history of suffering from depression and has made at least three suicide attempts in 2008 2011 and 2015 and has remained in the care of a psychiatrist in Pakistan since 2008 Fitzgerald told the court adding that given the gravity of his condition Moti would be a high suicide risk if he was to be extraditedThe Crown Prosecution Service CPS arguing on behalf of the US government submitted that while it is accepted the defendant has had mental health issues in the past the issue for the court would be to determine what measures can be taken to mitigate any risk posed by that condition if he was to be extraditedBoth sides are set to produce witnesses before the court to strengthen their arguments for and against The charge of importing heroin into the US carries a life sentence which will also be a focal point of the argumentsThe trial is scheduled for a threeday period until Wednesday but is likely to spill over into a fourth day later this month in order to incorporate all the witness statementsJudge Zani was first asked to rule on the issue of identity to ascertain that Jabir Moti aka Jabir Motiwala aka Jabir Siddiq was indeed the person sought by the US authorities as part of their investigationsThe judge did rule on the issue and it was agreed that the accused would be referred to as Jabir Siddiq when being addressed directly and as Jabir Motiwala during the course of the legal argumentsMoti who appeared in the dock unshaven and in a scruffy Tshirt has been lodged at Wandsworth prison iquest the same prison in southwest London where fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi is currently being held pending his extradition trial sought by India in relation to the nearly USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank PNB fraud and money laundering caseMoti was arrested by the Scotland Yard from a London hotel in August 2018 in connection with a US grand jury indictment following an extensive FBI probe The charges against him relate to a period between 2010 and 2014 and could carry a sentence of around 25 years behind bars in the USHis defence team has previously disputed allegations of him being a key aide of D Company as obvious nonsense describing Moti as a man of exemplary character who is a tax paying prominent businessman based in Karachi and accredited as a stockbroker with a family stockbroking business dating back to the 1950s in PakistanCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get the latest updates