Property mogul Zeng agrees to be extradited to HK

Alleged Hong Kong fugitive and property mogul Wei Zeng waived his extradition rights yesterday and agreed to be brought to Hong Kong. 
The U.S. Department of State has already received a formal request from the Hong Kong government to extradite Zeng.

Assistant U.S. attorney Jessica F. Cruz informed the U.S. District Court for the NMI on Saturday about the State Department’s receipt of the extradition request.

Attorney Bruce Berline, counsel for Zeng, filed Zeng’s affidavit of waiver of extradition yesterday in federal court.

Zeng concedes that he is the individual against whom charges are pending in Hong Kong and for whom an arrest warrant is outstanding there.

Zeng agreed that probable cause exists to believe that he committed the offenses for which extradition was requested.

He said he executed the waiver of rights knowingly, voluntarily, and entirely on his own free will.

Assistant U.S. attorney Cruz said the State Department received the extradition request prior to the March 28, 2014, deadline, in compliance with Article 10 of the extradition treaty between Hong Kong and the U.S.

Cruz said the request was sent via Federal Express and is en route from the U.S. Department of State to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Guam. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Cruz said, will file the formal extradition request upon receipt.

U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona recently dismissed the two criminal cases filed against Zeng, also known as Zhi Qian Liu, after the U.S. government asked for the dismissal.

However, Manglona said that Zeng remains in custody under a detention order in a separate extradition matter.

Last February, Zeng pleaded not guilty to the indictment charging him with use of false document and misuse of passport.

The U.S. government also filed a criminal complaint, charging him of lying to a federal agency. He also pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Zeng arrived at the Francisco C. Ada Saipan International Airport last Jan. 16 from Shanghai, China. He allegedly used a different identity to try to enter Saipan.

The Hong Kong government is seeking Zeng’s extradition due to a pending case against him. According to the U.S. government, the Hong Kong District Court issued a warrant for Zeng’s arrest after he allegedly bribed a Hong Kong bank official with HK 2.3 million ($300,000) in October 2010.

The cash was allegedly a reward for the bank official’s help in a multi-million Hong Kong dollar loan extension application and for giving favorable credit information relating to Zeng’s two companies.