UK trader wins Supreme Court fight against US extradition

Robert Besser
16 Feb 2025, 21:56 GMT+10

A UK-based securities trader accused of insider dealing in the United States has won his legal battle against extradition, with Britain’s Supreme Court ruling in his favor this week
Joseph El-Khouri, a British-Lebanese national, was charged in New York in 2019 along with five others for allegedly participating in an insider trading ring. He faced 17 charges, including securities and wire fraud
U.S. prosecutors claimed El-Khouri made significant payments to a middleman—covering expenses such as a yacht charter in Greece and a ski chalet rental in France—in exchange for confidential stock tips, allegedly earning around $2 million in profits

LONDON, U.K.: A UK-based securities trader accused of insider dealing in the United States has won his legal battle against extradition, with Britain's Supreme Court ruling in his favor this week.

Joseph El-Khouri, a British-Lebanese national, was charged in New York in 2019 along with five others for allegedly participating in an insider trading ring. He faced 17 charges, including securities and wire fraud.

U.S. prosecutors claimed El-Khouri made significant payments to a middleman—covering expenses such as a yacht charter in Greece and a ski chalet rental in France—in exchange for confidential stock tips, allegedly earning around $2 million in profits.

However, El-Khouri fought extradition, arguing that the alleged offenses were committed in the UK. The Supreme Court upheld his appeal, determining that nearly all the alleged criminal activity took place in Britain.

"No part of the conduct alleged to constitute insider dealing can sensibly be considered to have occurred in the United States," the court stated in its ruling.

His lawyer, Richard Cannon, welcomed the decision, saying it set an important precedent for limiting U.S. extradition requests in cases where alleged wrongdoing took place outside American jurisdiction.

"This ruling represents an important check on overreach by the U.S. authorities in the way the U.S./UK extradition treaty operates," Cannon said.

El-Khouri had previously been investigated by Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) between November 2016 and January 2018, but the regulator concluded there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him.

The FCA has not yet commented on the ruling.