Thailand to extradite fraud case Briton to Dubai

Former Dubai World company employee accused of Dh2.2m embezzlement says he sees 'light at the end of the tunnel' after almost two years in remand in a Bangkok jail.

Briton Michael Bryan Smith waits in a prison cell at the criminal court in Bangkok. The former Dubai World company employee accused of Dh2.2m embezzlement says he sees 'light at the end of the tunnel'Show more

BANGKOK // A Thai court has cleared the way for the extradition of Michael Bryan Smith, a Briton accused of embezzling more than Dh2 million while he worked in Dubai.
He will be sent to the UAE within 90 days.
"It's a relief ... there is now light at the end of the tunnel," Mr Smith, 44, told The National in an interview in the courtroom. "But I'm disillusioned and disappointed."
After 22 months in prison in Thailand, he said he had been caught in an unjust system.
"We've not been given a hearing - we weren't allowed to call witnesses in our defence," he said. Mr Smith has been denied bail since his arrest in May 2009 and has been held at the Bangkok Remand Prison in Klong Prem, on the outskirts of Bangkok.
"Waiting for extradition is not a crime, but I have been held here on hearsay - an accusation from the authorities in Dubai," he said.
Dubai authorities are seeking Mr Smith's extradition to face charges of forgery, betrayal of trust and the illegal possession of public funds.
He is alleged to have stolen Dh2.2m from the Dubai-based property company Limitless. Limitless is a business unit of Dubai World, which is owned by the Dubai Government.
Although a Thai court ordered his extradition in February 2010, Mr Smith appealed that decision. In December, however, he dropped his opposition to the order, and yesterday the Bangkok Criminal Court agreed to allow him to drop his appeal.
It is likely to take at least a month for all the paperwork to be prepared, according to Mr Smith's lawyer, Prachaya Vijitpokin, and he could be on his way to Dubai any time after that.
Mr Smith insists he is innocent of the charges. "I'm being victimised because I dared to accuse the company of racist and discriminatory employment practices," he said.
Mr Smith is accused of transferring workers' salaries into his own account while working as a personnel manager between March and May 2009.
He started work in Dubai in 2007, and left the company in June 2009, moving to Thailand.
"Limitless extended its full co-operation to the concerned authorities following Mr Smith's arrest. Control of the matter rests with these authorities," the company said in a press statement.
Mr Smith said it would be pointless to push on with his appeal, although he says he had still not seen the actual charges.
"Time is too short," he said. "I might as well face the courts in Dubai."
Mr Smith hopes Dubai authorities take time served into account if he is sentenced. Under Dubai law, the charges against Mr Smith are misdemeanours, and therefore subject to a maximum sentence of three years in prison.
"I know it's a gamble," Mr Smith said. "Anything can happen."
His greatest fear is that there may be new charges added when he arrives in court in Dubai, though that would be against the extradition order. He said he might consider pleading guilty if it meant he could be freed in the next few months.
"The most important thing is to be free and start to rebuild my life, especially with my wife," he said.
He married a Thai woman several years ago, and she has visited him in prison every day since he was arrested.
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