IN BRIEF : Italy OKs Extradition of Financier

A court in Italy has agreed to a Swiss request for the extradition of Cuban-American financier Roberto Polo on charges of embezzlement and fraud, his lawyer said today.

Polo, a prominent international money manager, was arrested in the Tuscan seaside resort of Viareggio on June 24 in connection with an alleged fraud involving about $100 million.

Lawyer Ferrando Mantovani said the Florence court had agreed to extradite Polo on charges of fraud and embezzlement but rejected charges of forgery and false management of other people’s assets that were also cited in the Swiss request. Mantovani had appealed against the decision and asked the Italian Justice Ministry to release the financier from detention on grounds of ill-health, he said.

Polo has denied wrongdoing, and claims a group of clients ruined him by all demanding their money back simultaneously. In May, he was charged separately by clients in New York with diverting $110 million from their accounts for his personal use. Mantovani said no U.S. extradition request had been received.