Judge Pulls Bail for Scot in Libya Embargo Case

In a surprise move, a U.S. District Court judge in San Diego on Wednesday ordered a Scottish businessman accused of illegally supplying Libya with oil field equipment held without bail, reversing an order made a day earlier by a federal magistrate.

After an acrimonious three-hour hearing, Judge Rudi M. Brewster ruled that Francis George Christie of Aberdeen, Scotland, should be detained until he stands trial on charges of violating a U.S. trade embargo with Libya.

Brewster apparently agreed with the U.S. attorney’s office that Christie might flee the country if he was allowed to post bond. Selling equipment to Libya is not a crime in Scotland, and Christie could not be extradited for the offense if he returned there.

On Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Atty. Phillip L.B. Halpern asked that Christie, 60, be held without bail, citing the seriousness of the crime and the potential that the defendant might head for the border.

But Christie’s defense attorney, Robert Semmer, produced an array of letters from friends of the businessman and an audit of his company’s books in an effort to establish the man’s “impeccable character.” If Christie jumped bail and returned to Scotland, his “greatly cherished reputation” would be at stake, Semmer argued.

U.S. Magistrate Roger Curtis McGee, who presided over Tuesday’s proceedings, apparently was persuaded by the presentation, as he set bail for Christie at $300,000. Halpern, however, asked for a review of the action by a district judge, and on Wednesday, Brewer overturned the ruling.

“I’m delighted,” Halpern said. “We feel the offenses in this case are exceedingly serious, because only by denying the Libyans the ability to refine oil can we hope to stop their state-supported terrorism. . . . If Mr. Christie were to leave the country, we would lose a person who violated the embargo and has allowed Libya to continue their actions.”

Semmer was unavailable for comment.

Christie was arrested along with the operators of a Louisiana oil services company in January after a six-month undercover operation by federal agents. During the investigation, a U.S. Customs agent posed as an oil equipment salesman for Solar Turbines Inc. and sold $250,000 worth of equipment to George and Cheryl Smith, operators of Oil Patch Production Services Inc.

With Christie’s help, the equipment then was allegedly shipped to Libya through England, prosecutors say. Subsequently, the agent was able to lure Christie to the United States on the promise of further shipments.

Christie, the Smiths and two other Scottish businessmen are charged with violating the trade embargo.