Mongolian spy chief loses appeal

29 July 2011 Last updated at 12:34 GMT A Mongolian spy chief - who claims he was tricked into coming to the UK so he could be arrested - can be extradited, the High Court has said.

In February, District Judge Quentin Purdy, at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court, ruled Bat Khurts should be sent to Germany.

Mr Bat, 41, is wanted for kidnapping a Mongolian national suspected of murdering a government official.

His appeal was rejected by the High Court on Friday.

The Mongolian government said it was "very disappointed" with the judgment.

It declined to appeal to the Supreme Court but said it would be "taking this matter to the International Court of Justice".

At the earlier hearing Mr Bat's lawyer claimed he was lured to the UK by the Foreign Office, on the pretence of attending high-level government talks on intelligence co-operation, so he could be arrested and extradited to Germany.

Lord Justice Moses and Mr Justice Foskett dismissed his appeal but his lawyers said the case may now be taken to the European Court of Human Rights.

'No evidence of luring'

Lord Justice Moses said Mr Bat "has not established that he was lured into this country".

He said: "Far from being lured, at every stage when the government of Mongolia, particularly through its ambassador, attempted to arrange meetings, they were rebuffed."

Lord Justice Moses said they rejected the allegation that Mr Bat was tricked into coming to Britain and said there was "no question of any official in the United Kingdom luring the appellant to this country in the belief that he was going to meet United Kingdom officials to discuss security matters".

Mr Bat was allegedly involved in the 2003 kidnap of Enkhbat Damiran, who was taken from France to Berlin, drugged and flown to the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator.

Mr Enkhbat was wanted in connection with the murder of Mongolia's Infrastructure Minister Zorig Sanjasuuren in 1998.

At the hearing earlier this year his lawyer, Alun Jones QC, claimed Mr Bat, head of the executive office of Mongolia's National Security Council, should not have been detained at Heathrow Airport in September because he was covered by diplomatic immunity.

He said Mr Bat had been granted a business visa for a visit during which he was supposed to meet Britain's National Security Adviser, Sir Peter Ricketts, and strategy and counter-terrorism director, William Nye.

Judge Purdy said he believed Mr Bat was invited for genuine security talks but the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) had heard about it and were aware of the outstanding warrant from Germany.

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Banking chief positive on Greece

6 July 2011 Last updated at 16:41 GMT Charles Dallara: "In spite of all the challenges, all the difficulties, the seeds of success are being planted."

The chairman of the latest rescue talks on Greece says he is positive a way of supporting Greece will be found.

International monetary authorities and eurozone governments are trying to build a new rescue package for Greece.

For the first time they want private lenders to contribute and lenders have been meeting in Paris to work out how they can contribute to a new bail-out.

The comments came from Charles Dallara, the head of the lobby group that is chairing the meeting.

Mr Dallara, from the Institute of International Finance (IIF), acknowledged that the solution was not an easy one but said he was "very positive" about the outcome.

He told the BBC's Christian Fraser: "I actually believe, in spite of all the challenges, all the difficulties, that the seeds of success are being planted."

The talks are the first in a series of meetings aimed to find a way of giving Greece a second rescue package, thought to be worth a similar amount to the first one of 112bn euros (?100bn).

French banks, which are among the biggest lenders to Greece and therefore have the most to lose from any default, have proposed giving the country softer repayment terms.

Agency problems

Not all banks are thought to be as willing, but Mr Dallara said there was hope: "The private financial community has signalled quite clearly in the last week its intent and willingness to explore voluntary options.

"Everyone recognises it is in the interests of all stakeholders to seek a voluntary solution."

One problem lies with the credit rating agencies, who measure the health of borrowers, including countries.

Their opinion affects the terms on which a borrower can lend.

On Monday, Standard & Poor's warned that current proposals for restructuring Greece's debt would effectively constitute a default, something that would trigger write downs of bank assets and potentially cause mayhem in global financial markets.

Mr Dallara said that he thought a way could be found to satisfy the ratings agencies.

The IIF represents insurers and other financial firms as well as banks including BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Societe Generale.

It is playing an informal role co-ordinating international banks to reach consensus about private-sector involvement in any bail-out.

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Christine Lagarde named IMF chief

28 June 2011 Last updated at 20:57 GMT Christine Lagarde will start her five-year term at the IMF on 5 July France's Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, 55, has been named the first woman to head the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Ms Lagarde fought off Mexico's Agustin Carstens for the job, although an IMF statement said that both candidates "were well qualified".

She received backing from America and Europe and key emerging market nations, including China, India and Brazil.

The post became vacant following the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

"The results are in: I am honoured and delighted that the board has entrusted me with the position of MD of the IMF!" Ms Lagarde said via Twitter minutes after the announcement.

In a statement, the IMF said that its 24-member board regarded both candidates as highly suitable for the job, but had decided on Ms Lagarde "by consensus".

'Leadership'

Messages of support poured in, with UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne saying he was "delighted" and French President Nicolas Sarkozy calling it "a victory for France".

Mr Carstens said he had sent Ms Lagarde his "best wishes and full support", adding that he hoped she would "make meaningful progress in strengthening the governance of the institution".

Continue reading the main story

I will make it my overriding goal that our institution continues to serve its entire membership”

End Quote Christine Lagarde IMF Managing Director US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said: "Minister Lagarde's exceptional talent and broad experience will provide invaluable leadership for this indispensable institution at a critical time for the global economy."

Although Ms Lagarde is the first woman to become managing director since the IMF was created in 1944, she maintains the tradition that the post is held by a European.

It has been convention that Europe gets the IMF, while an American gets the top job at the World Bank.

Mr Carstens, Mexico's central bank governor, campaigned on a platform that this time the IMF chief should reflect the emergence of developing nations as an economic force.

However, Ms Lagarde toured the world drumming up powerful support in the Middle East, Asia and South America.

Her appointment looked effectively sealed on Tuesday when America and Russia came out in her favour.

Immediate task

In a signal to IMF members who fear she will be overly-focused on Europe, Ms Lagarde said in a statement: "I will make it my overriding goal that our institution continues to serve its entire membership.

The IMF's David Hawley announces Christine Lagarde's appointment

"As I have had the opportunity to say to the IMF board during the selection process, the IMF must be relevant, responsive, effective and legitimate, to achieve stronger and sustainable growth, macroeconomic stability and a better future for all."

However, when Ms Lagarde begins her five-year term on 5 July, her immediate task will be to deal with the efforts of the IMF and European Union to resolve the Greek debt crisis and prevent contagion to other eurozone economies.

In a television interview minutes after her appointment, Ms Lagarde pressed Greece to move quickly to push through unpopular austerity measures that the IMF and EU have said are a prerequisite for further aid.

On a day of riots and protests throughout Greece, she said: "If I have one message tonight about Greece, it is to call on the Greek political opposition to support the party that is currently in power in a spirit of national unity."

Meeting Strauss-Kahn

Mr Strauss-Kahn resigned abruptly on 18 May after being arrested in New York for an alleged sexual assault. He denies the charges.

Ms Lagarde said that following the turmoil of his arrest, she wanted to unify the IMF's staff of 2,500 employees and 800 economists and restore their confidence in the organisation.

She also said she wanted to meet Mr Strauss-Kahn, if permitted to by the US government.

"I want to have a long talk with him, because a successor should talk with their predecessor," Ms Lagarde said during an interview on French television channel TF1.

"I can learn things from what he has to say about the IMF and its teams," she said.

Before becoming France's finance minister in June 2007, she was minister for foreign trade for two years.

Prior to moving into politics, Ms Lagarde, a former champion swimmer, was an anti-trust and employment lawyer in the US.

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