Billionaire Chinese property developer Zhang Li will no longer be subject to electronic monitoring while out on bail or have to wear handcuffs to visit the pool in his luxury tower in London as he fights extradition to the United States, a judge has ruled. The co-founder of debt-stricken Guangzhou R&F Properties was arrested by London police on November 30, as US authorities are seeking to extradite him to face bribery charges related to Z&L Properties, a California-based company R&F has said is owned by Zhang and his affiliate. R&F has distanced itself from the situation, saying it had “no interest” in Z&L Properties and denied a media report last year that it had provided up to £10 million (US$12.3 million ) of Zhang’s bail. While he awaits an extradition hearing later this year, Zhang is free on a £15 million bail and is staying in a 43rd-floor flat in a development that was once one of his company’s showcase projects in London near the US embassy in the Nine Elms area. Lawyers for Zhang asked a judge to alter his bail conditions at a hearing in Westminster Magistrates Court on Tuesday, saying metal in the tower building was likely interfering with his electronic monitoring bracelet and the bracelet was not functioning properly despite all their best efforts. Mark Summers, a lawyer for Zhang, told the court that the building’s structure is causing the ankle bracelet to constantly seek a signal, forcing it to be recharged every two hours and it cannot be recharged while Zhang sleeps, as it could “electrocute” him. As part of his bail conditions, Zhang is subject to a curfew and 24-hour monitoring by a private security firm. In addition to removing the electronic monitoring requirement, Judge John Zain also agreed on Tuesday to lift a condition that Zhang be handcuffed when he travelled within his building to use the development’s 30-metre indoor swimming pool and allowed him to access a monitored laptop. The flat is in the Thames City development, a luxury residential and retail complex that R&F co-developed with Hong Kong-listed CC Land on old industrial sites in southwest London. Last April, R&F announced that it was selling its 50 per cent interest in the project to Cheung Chung Kiu’s CC Land for HK$2.66 billion (US$342 million), including a loan related to the project, and would take a HK$1.84 billion loss on the sale. It is one of two developments in southwest London that R&F agreed to sell its stake in last year. The development also features a private cinema, private dining rooms, a wine and cigar bar, an open-air lounge on the 39th floor overlooking the River Thames and a yoga studio among its amenities, according to a marketing website for the project. Zhang’s extradition case is expected to be heard over three days beginning on July 24. He is challenging the extradition in part based on his health and prison conditions in the US. Zhang did not appear at Tuesday’s hearing and Summers, his lawyer, declined to comment.