Peter Dicks, who resigned earlier today as chairman of internet bookmaker Sportingbet, has been freed to return to the UK for two weeks.
A judge removed Mr Dicks’s bail restrictions this morning after it emerged that the New York Governor’s office had withdrawn a warrant approving his extradition to Louisiana, Sportingbet said in a statement.
Judge Gene Lopez, sitting at the New York State Criminal Court in Queens, ordered Mr Dicks to re-appear on September 28 for a further extradition hearing.
However, according to Anand Doobay, an extradition expert at Peters and Peters, should Mr Dicks refuse to return to the US for the follow up hearing, he may be safe from extradition.
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“The offence for which he was arrested - ‘gambling by computer’ - is not a crime in the UK and under UK extradition laws the Home Secretary will only grant an extradition order if the activity which underlies the alleged offence would also be criminal in the UK,” Mr Doobay said.
The warrant for Mr Dicks’s arrest in Louisiana remains active.
Neither Sportingbet nor The New York Governor’s office has said why Mr Dicks’s extradition warrant was withdrawn but lawyers were heard to suggest in court that it had been improperly compiled.
Sportingbet confirmed that it had accepted Mr Dicks’s resignation in a statement earlier this afternoon. The company said that Mr Dicks quit “to concentrate on personal matters” but it is understood that he did so on legal advice because it would strengthen his case.
Mr Dicks was arrested at JFK airport in New York last week whilst travelling on business unrelated to his role as non-executive chairman of Sportingbet. He was freed on $50,000 bail on Friday but required to remain in New York until today’s hearing.
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Mr Dicks became the second senior company director from a UK gaming firm to be arrested in the US, following the detention of former BetonSports chief executive David Carruthers in April.
Mr Carruthers, who was fired following his arrest, was held in US custody for a month before being released on $1 million bail in August.
Unlike Mr Dicks who is wanted for violation of state charges, Mr Carruthers was detained on suspicion of breaking federal laws in an investigation involving the FBI and US Department of Justice.