Human rights case Dutchman held on money laundering

Dutchman Mohammed Kadem, who last month was awarded Lm3,140 in damages after winning a case in the European Court of Human Rights against the Maltese government, was arrested last week by Dutch police in connection with money laundering of about €200 million (Lm87 million), sources said yesterday.

Maarten Hemelaar, a spokesman on behalf of the public prosecution service in The Hague, confirmed that a man was being held by Dutch police in connection with money laundering.

"The exact amount involved in the investigations is still subject to further investigations which can take weeks, possibly months," Mr Hemelaar said.

The European Court of Human Rights last month decided that the government must pay Mohamed Kadem Lm3,140 for moral damages and costs over his arrest in 1998.

Kadem had filed his case with the European Court of Human Rights following the conclusion of his case in the Maltese courts, on the grounds that there were no means available to him under Maltese law to speedily challenge his arrest and detention with a view to extradition.

Kadem was arrested in Malta in 1998 on the basis of a provisional arrest warrant issued by a duty magistrate in connection with a request for his extradition made by Morocco on the basis of his alleged involvement in international cannabis trafficking.

Kadem then alleged that the provisional arrest warrant was unlawful because there were no bilateral extradition arrangements between Malta and Morocco.

Following the dismissal of his case, Kadem filed a constitutional application before the Civil Court in Malta, claiming there was no legal authority to order his arrest with a view to extradition to Morocco.

The case was still pending when the criminal proceedings for extradition were dismissed by the Magistrates' Court on the grounds that there was no evidence to justify his extradition to Morocco.