Arrested Waked wont fight extradition

A LAWYER for Nidal Waked 44, who was arrested Wednesday. May 4 in Bogota, Colombia, said that he will not seek to delay his client’s extradition to the United States, where prosecutors are seeking a 50 year jail term

Waked is charged in a Florida district court with money laundering and bank fraud for allegedly laundering the proceeds of drug trafficking. His lawyer, Luis Carlos González, told the Colombian daily El Tiempo that he has no plans to delay his client’s extradition, saying there’s nothing to negotiate because his client is innocent.

He also said there is no business relationship between Nidal Waked and Grupo Wisa and La Riviera, the companies that U.S. investigators say were used to launder the money.

His uncle, Abdul Waked, in an interview with W Radio Colombia, said that he owns Wisa, and that Nidal is the son of his older brother, who has not been involved in the business since 1980.

“They are my family, but we have no business,” he said.

According to his lawyer, the highest penalty facing Nidal is 30 years, since that is the maximum penalty he would face if he was convicted of the charges in Colombia.

According to the indictment against Waked issued in Florida, he faces charges for conspiracy to commit money laundering and fraud. American prosecutors claim the criminal activity goes   back to 2000.