Law.com - White & Case, Jones Day Celebrate U.K. Ruling on Extradition for Price Fixing

Law.com - White & Case, Jones Day Celebrate U.K. Ruling on Extradition for Price Fixing: "White & Case, Jones Day Celebrate U.K. Ruling on Extradition for Price Fixing

Claire Ruckin
Legal Week
March 12, 2008
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White & Case and Jones Day are celebrating after the House of Lords blocked an attempt by the U.S. to extradite a British citizen accused of price fixing, bringing to an end one of the most high-profile white-collar crime investigations of recent years.

The Lords ruled Wednesday morning that White & Case client Ian Norris could not be extradited over his alleged involvement in the price fixing of carbon products before the Enterprise Act 2002 made price fixing a criminal offense in the U.K.

White & Case head of dispute resolution Alistair Graham, who represented Norris, commented: 'We're absolutely delighted that the House of Lords has upheld what we've been saying for more than two years: namely, that no criminal offense for price fixing existed in the U.K. prior to the enactment of the Enterprise Act 2002 and that price fixing in itself cannot be characterized as the old English common-law offense of conspiracy to defraud.

'[The] attempts to extradite Ian on this basis were of grave concern to the U.K. business community at large, human rights organizations and the political opposi"