Schneider extradition decision postponed until September
Schneider, a former SREL intelligence agent in Luxembourg, is cited as co-conspirator in US court documents in the OneCoin crypto scam
Former Luxembourg spy Frank Schneider is facing extradition to the US over alleged involvement in the OneCoin cryptocurrency scam © Photo credit: Lex Kleren
A decision on whether Luxembourg ex-spy Frank Schneider who is embroiled in a billion-dollar crypto scam should be extradited to the US has been postponed until September as judges need more information from the US, the prosecution said on Wednesday.
Schneider, a former SREL intelligence agent in Luxembourg, is cited as a co-conspirator in US court documents in the OneCoin crypto scam led by Ruja Ignatova, which is alleged to have defrauded customers around the globe for more than $4 billion. Ignatova, a self-proclaimed "cryptoqueen", has disappeared since 2017, when scam allegations surfaced.
"The investigating chamber today issued a ruling ordering additional information and postponed the examination of the case until 23 September", Jean-Jacques Bosc, the prosecutor at the Court of Appeal in Nancy said in an email. Schneider will remain in custody as more information is requested from the US, Bosc said.
France and other EU countries assess extradition requests with regards to the possibility of degrading treatment abroad or the death penalty.
Schneider, who is also a defendant in a Luxembourg court case over the wiretapping scandal around former Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, was arrested near the Luxembourg border on 29 April and has since been in custody in Nancy.
The US submitted an extradition request to French authorities in June, and Schneider was first brought before court on 13 July.
An investigation by the Luxembourg Times found that Schneider's private intelligence company Sandstone, which he founded after his departure from the intelligence agency, had vetted clients for the European Investment Bank.
