By Andrew Warshaw
November 5 – The Italian owner of English fourth-tier club Leyton Orient faces extradition to Albania for alleged fraud and money laundering.
Leyton Orient owner Francesco Becchetti says he will strongly contest the allegations which came to light after an arrest warrant was issued in Albania.
Becchetti is in his second season at Orient after buying the east London club, which has a loyal fan base, for £4million. He used four different managers in a single campaign which ended in relegation and the club are now having to challenge for promotion from League Two.
After a request from police, Becchetti handed over his travel documents. The 49-year-old was bailed on October 26 and a procedural hearing will take place in London on December 7.
The Albanian case relates to a failed hydroelectric scheme which allegedly cost the government tens of millions of euros. The Italian had assets in the Balkan country seized in the summer, including shares in the Agon Channel, his television station.
Beccheti is under curfew between 11pm and 5am and is not allowed to leave the UK. But he has described the charges as “demonstrably groundless, improperly motivated and unsupported by any evidence”.
A statement on his behalf said Becchetti and his lawyers “believe his case is extremely robust” and went on to provide detailed background denouncing the Albanian authorities.
“Because of Mr Becchetti’s ownership of Agonset Shpk, an Albanian company operating the Agon Channel TV station, which advocates freedom of speech and which has broadcast stories that are critical of the Albanian Government, Agonset and the TV station have been attacked by the Government.
“Mr Becchetti’s companies’ assets have been seized and their bank accounts frozen. These actions forced the TV station to stop broadcasting; and furthermore and for this reason alone, journalists working for Agon TV have been prevented from being paid.”
The statement continued: “Indeed, broadcasts by Agon TV in late May 2015, in advance of local elections in Albania, exposed the scandal of the fake identity cards and as a consequence, the manipulation of the electoral lists compiled by the Albanian Government, which resulted in a single person being able to vote up to twenty times in the elections. The exposure of this scandal appears to have triggered the Government’s baseless charges, dated 5th June, against Mr Becchetti.
“The Albanian Government’s claims are also a reaction to two significant arbitrations commenced by companies associated with Mr Becchetti against the Government for large amounts of money, and are made to pressurise Mr Becchetti to settle these arbitrations.”
The statement concluded: “Accordingly, Mr Becchetti sees that the Albanian requests should have no impact on his duties and responsibilities as Chairman of Leyton Orient. On the contrary, Mr Becchetti continues to work very hard to reinvigorate the club, which is one of the oldest football clubs in London.”
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