Fugitive ex-Comverse CEO gets extradition hearing delay

A Namibian court has  deferred a hearing, originally scheduled for today, on the extradition of former Comverse Technology and CEO Kobi Alexander until June 8.  The prosecution asked for the deferral on the hearing where the court will decide whether to agree to the US extradition request or allow Alexander to continue to reside in the country as a temporary resident. Millionaire Alexander fled to Namibia in July 2006. Fugitive businessman Alexander has recently taken out full-page ads and bought billboards touting his commitment to Namibia and  pleading his case and support of to the Nambian people.  Alexander, the former chief executive of voicemail software maker Comverse Technology Inc., was arrested last  Sept. 26 in the Namibian capital, Windhoek, at the request of the FBI.  Alexander is an Israeli citizen who had been living in the southern African desert country since July, was granted bail of $1.3 million. In an affidavit at the time of his arrest, Alexander said he had entered the country lawfully with his wife and three children and that he had plans for businesses and investments in Namibia. Since then, he promoted his Namibian company, Kobi Alexander Enterprises.  He placed full-page advertisements in four local dailies hailing his investment in the construction of 200 low-cost houses.  US regulators have accused Alexander of hatching a scheme to pocket millions of dollars by secretly manipulating stock options. He has been charged with 32 criminal counts, ranging from alleged conspiracy to securities fraud and money laundering and could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted. His lawyer has said Alexander would plead not guilty to the U.S. charges if extradited. Comverse’s former general counsel and former head of finance both have pleaded guilty in the case, and both said in U.S. federal court that they conspired with Alexander to backdate options to low points in the stock price and falsify financial statements to conceal the fraud from shareholders. Comverse executives were among the first to be brought to trial in the wide-reaching U.S. government investigation into stock options backdating. Meanwhile Comverse this month announced that  former AT&T Wireless Services executive Andre Dahan, 58, will become the company’s president, CEO and board member beginning April 30. The former president and CEO of AWS’ Mobile Multimedia Services replaces Zeev Bregman, who left the company as CEO at the end of March.