New | Zhenli Ye Gon, who had 2 tonnes of US$100 bills in his home, faces extradition to Mexico on drug charges
A Chinese-Mexican businessman accused of drug trafficking, whose house infamously contained a mountain of cash weighing 2 tonnes, could be handed over by US authorities to Mexican authorities as early as next week as he has nearly exhausted his legal options, ending a years-long extradition battle, his lawyer told Reuters.
Zhenli Ye Gon’s July 2007 arrest in the United States and the seizure of US$205 million in cash at his Mexico City home several months earlier, played a role in high-profile money laundering investigations by US authorities at the British banking giant HSBC and the Las Vegas Sands Corp. casino company. The discovery of the money, almost entirely consisting of US$100 bills, along with a few pesos and Hong Kong dollars, was hailed as the biggest cash seizure in drug enforcement history.
The case collapsed in 2009 after key witnesses recanted or refused to testify, according to court records. Since then, Ye Gon has been imprisoned in a Virginia jail, held on the basis of an extradition request from Mexico, where he faces charges of drug trafficking and money laundering.
Ye Gon’s attorney Gregory Smith, has fought extradition, arguing in court that Ye Gon would likely be tortured or killed if he returns to Mexico. Earlier this month, Ye Gon, 53, all but exhausted his legal options when a federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia rejected a bid to have his extradition reconsidered.
The court ruled that it could not interfere with the decision of the US State Department, which decided last year that Ye Gon should be handed over to Mexico.
John Kirby, a State Department spokesman, declined to comment on the case, but said that before deciding to extradite someone, the US government must be satisfied an individual would not be tortured and would receive a fair trial.